Ignium, an Estonia-based security token issuance and cross-border settlement infrastructure firm, is announcing the issuance of a security token through its platform, which it says represents the first and only time that security tokens have been issued, settled, and traded on an end-to-end capital markets infrastructure that was made specifically for digital assets.
Reimo Hammerberg, co-founder and chief executive of Ignium, commented to Finance Magnates that Ignium’s issuance fees are 10-20 times less than competitors’ costs, adding that “we continue to work hard to create reliable, affordable, and inclusive capital market infrastructure for issuance and cross-border settlement of digital securities.”
The Most Diverse Audience to Date at FMLS 2020 – Where Finance Meets Innovation
Ignium’s security token platform is licensed by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Montenegro, which has created a regulatory sandbox program that is being used to test central securities depository (CSD) market infrastructures.
Zoran Djikanovic, President of the Montenegro CMA, said about the launch that “we are pleased to have played an important part in this landmark event in capital markets innovation.”
“We at the Capital Market Authority in Montenegro recognize the importance of a proactive approach toward regulation,” Djikanovic said. “We are regulating for the future of capital markets. We have worked to innovate for the last couple of years through the concept of regulatory sandboxes and giving regulatory frameworks for new ideas.”
The Start of “a Truly International Era in Capital Markets”?
The tokens in question have been issued through Ignium by Tangible KK, a Japan-based bond securities firm that is using the money raised through the issuance to fund the development of ‘Basecamp’, a seven-unit boutique ski resort in Niseko, Japan.
The tokens sold during the security token offering will be available to investors in the EU and the US jurisdictions, a factor that Ignium says “marks the dawn of a truly international era in capital markets.” Traditional capital markets infrastructure does not support sales of securities across various jurisdictions.
Tangible KK founder, Evan Griffin also commented that “partnering with Ignium and CoinMetro has made the fundraising process affordable, cost-effective, and accessible for Tangible and the investor,” and that “the ability to connect with investors across borders is what allows the Basecamp project to happen.”
“[Traditional] Funding Rails for SMEs Are Broken.”
Indeed, the issuance represents the practical launch of a new collaborative effort within the STO space: Tangible’s tokens (TGBL2YR) are sold at €50 each through crypto exchange, CoinMetro’s platform, which acts as a secondary market for tokens issued on Ignium’s platform. These sales are settled through the Ignium infrastructure.
Kevin Murcko, chief executive of CoinMetro, commented that the collaboration represents an effort to provide an alternative to fragmented traditional capital markets.
Currently, “funding rails for SMEs are broken,” he said. As a result, “investors with capital are not able to invest in projects that need funding.”
“A long line of market players have been trying to tackle bits and pieces of this largely systemic problem for decades, including the current batch of STO Primary Platforms,” he said. “CoinMetro and Ignium shared common ground with our desire to fix the problem from all sides.”
Ignium says that the launch further demonstrates that its platform is ready to onboard and host additional companies who wish to issue their own security tokens, and that it is actively seeking companies that wish to do that.
Therefore, “we look forward to many more interesting projects both on the primary side and on our very own Secondary market infrastructure,” Kevin Murcko commented.
