TokenMarket Launches New Security Token Offering

Digital asset crowdfunding platform TokenMarket announced the launch of its new Security Token Offering (STO) service aimed at assisting issuers and investment banks with all the technical aspects of the token issuance, the company announced in a September 17 press release.

Focused on Tokenization

TokenMarket, a strategic and technology advisory firm with offices in London, Gibraltar, and Helsinki, announced that it is currently building a pipeline of STO issuances.

In a September 17, 2018, PRNewswire press release, the company said that it plans on assisting issuers and investment banks with all the technical aspects of the token issuance, including in-house developed, world-class security token framework.

The company will offer its clients safe and efficient tokenization, According to the company’s press release, the tokenization they’re referring to is a method of converting rights to an equity or debt instrument into a token that lives on a blockchain.

TokenMarket believes that it will attract new investors, as tokens retain the investor protections of a regulated asset, but enjoy all the benefits of blockchain technology – instant settlements and borderless distribution, as well as counterparty risk mitigation.

“We are excited to start a new chapter by offering solutions and services for asset tokenization. With over 350 million dollars worth of ICO’s under our belt, we know a lot about token offerings from technology to strategy,” Ransu Salovaara, CEO of TokenMarket, said according to the company’s press release. “We are currently in talks with businesses across multiple sectors on how we can best facilitate STO’s for startups and growth companies,” he added.

(Source: PRNewswire)

Contracts Tested and Ready to Be Applied

While the company’s press release was vague on who exactly their clients will be and how they plan on implementing their newly tested contracts, it’s believed that the first investment types are likely to be private placements.

As financial regulations are still in the process of adjusting to blockchain technology, other, more tech-savvy industries such as SME growth companies, real estate, and investment funds might also be the first to jump on the tokenization bandwagon.

This is in line with the company’s official release, which states that TokenMarket will assist issuers with tokenization of new and existing assets on the blockchain, programming of associated token rights such as dividend and voting rights into the token smart contract, on-chain governance, as well as more general strategic and technical advisory.

Mikko Ohtamaa, TokenMarket’s CTO, said that their token sale smart contracts had been tested in dozens of offerings including ones from third party vendors. He also added that TokenMarket’s STO toolchain would be available under the Apache 2 Open Source License.

TokenMarket’s contracts aren’t the only thing moving forward this year, as the company was accepted in the  FCA Regulatory Sandbox in July 2018. According to the press release, the company has been given a trial period to test and measure the implementation and the practice of tokenizing equity in the UK.

The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) also granted them a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) approval in September.