U.S.-Based Fintech Enters Spanish Regulatory Sandbox in Anticipation of Providing Blockchain-Based Share Issuance and Trading Services.Europ
Securitize, the U.S.-based leader in using blockchain to tokenize financial products and expand access to private market investments, today announced the beginning of its expansion into Europe. As the Spanish General Secretariat of the Treasury and International Finance recently announced, Securitize has officially entered its controlled test space – or “sandbox” – in which Securitize will serve a limited number of businesses and their investors under close supervision, with the goal of emerging from the sandbox and operating throughout Europe within the next 6-12 months.
When Securitize exits the sandbox, it expects to be the only firm tokenizing and facilitating the trading of tokenized securities operating in both the U.S. and Europe.
Founded in 2017, Securitize has built the largest all-in-one platform for private businesses to raise capital (including from individual investors), with shares issued as digital tokens which can be traded on its marketplace, all consistent with U.S. regulations. When Securitize emerges from the CNMV’s financial sandbox, it expects to be able to provide these services throughout Europe.
“Tokenization is a fundamentally better way than paper of providing financial services. It is more secure and less expensive, it enables businesses to raise capital from more sources, and it expands investor access to opportunities and potential liquidity not possible in the past,” said Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo. “Blockchain has the potential to improve, expand and democratize access to the financial markets for businesses and investors alike and we are very excited to begin the process of bringing these advancements to Europe.”
Although Securitize is a U.S.-based company, it already has a significant presence in Europe, particularly in Spain, where much of its technology team is located and Banco Santander was an early investor. Additional investors include Morgan Stanley, Blockchain Capital, Coinbase, Nomura, and approximately 20 other leading banks and venture capital firms in Europe, the U.S., and Asia.
Accessing the CNMV’s financial sandbox is the first step in applying Securitize’s platform to the market and regulatory nuances of the European Union, consistent with the Pilot Regime for Market Infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology, which was adopted on June 2 and comes into effect in March 2023. These guidelines will govern the regulations by which Securitize and other tokenization-based financial service providers must comply going forward.
Successfully exiting the sandbox would make Securitize one of the very first blockchain-based financial institutions authorized to issue and manage tokenized shares and facilitate the secondary trading of digital securities in the EU.
About Securitize
Securitize is a digital asset securities firm with a mission to provide shareholders access to invest in and trade alternative investments, and for companies to raise capital, manage shareholders, and offer shareholders potential liquidity. Securitize has pioneered a fully digital, all-in-one platform for issuing, managing and trading digital asset securities, consistent with the existing U.S. regulatory framework, with a community of over 1.2 million investors and 3,000 businesses connected. Securitize is comprised of Securitize, Inc. and its subsidiaries Securitize LLC and Pacific Stock Transfer (both SEC-registered transfer agents), Securitize Capital, LLC, Securitize Markets, LLC (an SEC-registered broker-dealer, member of FINRA and SIPC, and operator of the company’s alternative trading system).
http://www.securitize.io.
