Security Tokens
Ben Franklin Gives Access to ‘Go Philly Fund’ with the Help of Securitize
Ben Franklin is a capital provider with over three decades of experience in the Philadelphia area. This accomplished organization has recognized the benefits of blockchain, and has now announced a collaboration with industry leader, Securitize.
Onboarding Platform
Through this collaboration, Ben Franklin will be utilizing services rendered by Securitize to host a digital security offering. This offering will see the distribution of tokens, to qualifying investors, which represent participation the ‘Go Philly Fund’.
These tokens, to be issued on the Ethereum blockchain, are known as ‘Go Philly Tokens’, and are actively for sale HERE.
Global Opportunity Philadelphia Fund (Go Philly Fund)
The ‘Go Philly Fund’ is a program that will utilize blockchain technologies to raise and distribute capital, to seed stage companies within the Philadelphia area. These funds are gathered through the aforementioned DSO, and distributed to promising start-ups, curated by Ben Franklin.
This process allows for investors to gain exposure to various companies and the emerging technologies they delve in. With blockchain facilitating the process, investors are also privy to high levels of transparency and efficiency.
Commentary
In their press release, the Chief Investment Officer of Ben Franklin, Scott Nissenbaum, took the time to comment on usage of blockchain. The following is what he had to say.
“The GO Philly Fund intends to utilize rapidly emerging standard technologies to streamline and manage investor interests in the fund…Through the use of blockchain technology, we are now facilitating and streamlining individual investor participation from around the globe while allowing for cryptocurrency to be accepted.”
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Ben Franklin in a United Stated based capital provider. Founded in 1982, Ben Franklin specializes in providing capital to upstarts, which are still within their seed stage.
With a focus on the greater Philadelphia area, Ben Franklin has funded over 2000 companies since its launch. This level of activity has resulted in Ben Franklin being ranked as a top capital provider within the United States.
Securitize
Securitize is a United States based company, which was founded in 2017. Under the watch of founder, Carlos Domingo, Securitize has seen steady adoption of their compliance platform. Purpose built for the digital securities sector, this platform allows for the issuance and management of digital securities in a regulatory compliant manner.
In Other News
As a leader within the sector, Securitize has found themselves in our news feed as recently as yesterday. Check out a few of the articles below to learn more about recent developments pertaining to this promising company.
Securitize Announces ‘Securitize Ready’ Program
Securitize Partners with Vemanti Group on STO
Leonovus to use Securitize to Host Security Token Offering
This week, European investors got their first opportunity to participate in the Max Crowdfund STO. The Max Crowdfund platform seeks to revolutionize the EU real estate sector via an aggressive tokenization strategy. Interestingly, the STO will take place across five phases with the first release already surpassing its soft cap of €500,000.
Max Crowdfund
Max Crowdfund is the tokenization and crowdfunding arm of Max Property Group B.V. (MPG). The platform utilizes blockchain technology to streamline real estate investments in a major way. The platform currently boasts over 75,000 global users. Additionally, Max Crowdfund provides the EU market with much-needed liquidity.
Developers seek to expand upon the platform’ s success. As such, funds raised from the STO will go towards the final development stages of the project. Once the platform is completed, it will become a complete real estate security token ecosystem. This ecosystem will include both native Android and iOS apps.
Also, third-parties will be able to tokenize and crowdfund their own properties via the platform. This means that other real estate firms can enjoy the same benefits without the need to invest directly in blockchain technology. Notably, this strategy has the potential to revolutionize development projects. Basically, any developer can now get pre-funded for their projects if investors feel the ROI is good.
A Global Audience
Max Crowdfund will remove many of the typical barriers surrounding real estate investment. For example, investors can participate in property sales for as little as $100. Aside from making real estate investing a reality for anyone, the platform seeks to provide these opportunities to a global audience.
Snippet from Max Crowdfund Whitepaper
Currently, Max Crowdfund awaits pending regulatory approval from the Dutch financial authorities (AFM). The company filed for approval back in October 2019 but the AFM has yet to make a decision. Typically, an AFM license approval takes around thirteen weeks to complete.
Max Functionality
Max Crowdfund is already a major player in the tokenization sector. The platform is best known for its unique combination of features. Features such as automated KYC/AML reduce the amount of time it takes an investor to enter the market. Also, the platform offers multi-currency investment options. This feature is set for major expansion as the platform prepares for its global launch in the coming months.
Max Property Group B.V.
The Max Property Group B.V. entered the EU real estate sector in 2016. The company quickly gained notoriety for its advantageous market strategy. Currently, Max Property Group B.V. controls over €7,000,000 of property assets. The firm specializes in property funds, management services, and sales. Importantly, Max Property Group B.V. started development on the Max Crowdfund platform in 2017.
EU Tokenization
It’s no surprise to see Max Crowdfund’s expansion. The EU leads the globe in terms of security token regulatory framework. Many analysts see security tokens as the natural evolution of the crypto sector. A solid regulatory framework does more than just protect investors. It allows firms to invest in R&D without concern about the legal ramifications. In turn, you get more investment capital flowing into innovation.
Max Crowdfund STO
The Max Crowdfund STO is underway currently. Given the reputation and success of the platform to date, you can expect to see further investment into its capabilities as the EU tokenization sector continues to heat up.
Mission Successful
On a positive note, issuance platform, NeuFund, has announced the successful completion of a marquee STO being held by GreyP on their platform.
While never intended to be a financially large scale STO, the event was important, as it demonstrated the effectiveness and potential for digital securities to change the way smaller, private companies raise capital.
Just prior to the launch of the STO, we detailed the events which made it possible. In the following article you can learn more about the clearance given to NeuFund by the FMA, and what it means for the platform, moving forward.
NeuFund Preps for GREYP Token Sale upon FMA Clearance
Due, in large part, to their successes, NeuFund continues to see strong growth in their client base. The company indicates that their platform investor pool now totals great than 11 thousand individuals. This growth should result in a snowball effect, as issuers are attracted to the platform due to the scope of investors. More STOs will then draw in more investors – and the cycle continues.
Details of the Raise
With regards to the GreyP STO, there were various positive figures that came out of the events. The following are a few of the details surrounding participation:
- 1017 participating investors
- Hailing from 34 different countries
- €4million raised
- Represents 179% of the target cap
Commentary
This early in the developmental stage of the digital securities sector, any successful STO is an important feat. With every positive and negative experience, industry participants can adapt and grow. Recognizing the importance of the GreyP STO, Zoe Adamovicz took the time to comment by stating,
“It’s an exciting day for Neufund and huge step forward for the security tokens industry at large. We have proven that private companies can effectively utilize blockchain IPOs, whilst lowering the barrier to entry for retail investors. Neufund is the future of stock exchanges.”
Speaking with Zoe
Earlier this year, we were able to complete an exclusive interview with the CEO of Neufund – Zoe Adamovicz. In this discussion, we learn more about NeuFund, themselves, as well as the views of Adamovicz herself.
“Blockchain is one of the greatest opportunities we’ve been presented with in modern history. Decentralization is ultimately about equalizing opportunities, so a young entrepreneur from the third world receives the same access as a wealthy investor. Building solutions that perpetuate the mistakes of existing markets solely for the purpose of increasing revenues is not enough. We, as a Blockchain community, can and should do better.”
Interview Series – Zoe Adamovicz, CEO of NeuFund
GreyP
Operating out of Croatia, GreyP is a tech company, which was founded in 2013. Above all, the team behind GreyP is working to redefine ‘smart mobility’. This technology has led the company to utilize e-bikes as a development platform.
CEO, Mate Rimac, currently oversees company operations.
NeuFund
Maintaining headquarters in Berlin, Germany, NeuFund is a popular digital securities issuance platform, which was founded in 2016.
CEO, Zoe Adamovicz, currently oversees company operations.
In Other News
NeuFund has also announced their follow-up to the successful GreyP event. This will see Black One Entertainment look to repeat this success in early 2020. While a firm date has not been announced for this STO, more information can be found in the company’s pitch deck, HERE.
Luxury Real Estate
With multiple STOs already on the docket from a variety of asset classes, Smartlands has just announced a new collaboration, which will, hopefully, see the addition of multiple more. This move sees the UK based company partner with Sotheby’s International Realty.
This collaboration will see the pair explore the feasibility of tokenizing multiple pieces of luxury real estate. The company notes two specific properties as holding the potential for tokenization.
- Greek Islands Villa
- London Penthouse Apartment
While details on the STOs are scarce, for the time being, it is indicated that the Greek Islands Villa is under management by a world renowned hotel network.
This collaboration spurred Smartlands’ Executive Director, Katharine Manderfield, into commenting. She stated that, “Deals of this level of exclusivity will open a new page in asset tokenisation.”
Past Successes
While many are still figuring out their first steps within the world of digital securities, Smartlands remain one of the few companies to have successfully completed an STO. Not only that, but they are now moving on to subsequent opportunities.
Like any experiences, they have the ability to shape our future actions. Expect Smartlands to learn from their past capital generation events, and apply that knowledge to the development discussed here today. The following articles take a brief look at just what these previous successes were.
Smartlands to Tokenize Nottingham Real Estate through STO
Smartlands Team up with ECN CrowdCamp
Popular Implementation
Due to the nature of real estate, it has caught the attention of various tokenization platforms from more than just the United Kingdom. While there have been hiccups along the way – such as the failure of Fluidity and Propellr – real estate continues to be one of the more lucrative industries, which stands to be transformed by digital securities.
Despite beginning to branch into different sectors, such as commodities and disruptive start-ups, expect for real estate to remain a popular outlet on Smartlands’ path to reaching the goal of tokenizing $1 billion in assets.
Speaking with Arnoldas
Roughly 6 months ago, we were fortunate enough to have completed an exclusive interview with the then CEO of Smartlands, Arnoldas Nauseda. While he has since transitioned into the role of Chairman, our discussion with Arnoldas Nauseda remains relevant today, offering a glimpse into Smartlands operations.
Interview Series – Arnoldas Nauseda, Chairman of Smartlands
Sotheby’s International Realty
Founded in 1976, Sotheby’s International Realty is a United Kingdom based company. While many associate the name Sotheby exclusively with fine art, there are company branches, such as Sotheby’s International Realty. This branch specializes in facilitating the buying/selling of real estate, with a presence in over 60 countries.
CEO, Philip A. White, currently oversees company operations.
Smartlands
Founded in 2017, Smartlands is a tokenization platform, which operates within the United Kingdom. Through use of the Stellar blockchain, this forward thinking company has developed a variety of solutions built to make fractionalized ownership of real world assets accessible to the masses.
CEO, Ilia Obraztsov, currently oversees company operations.
In Other News
Not content with opportunities based solely in the United Kingdom, Smartlands recently took their first steps towards operating within the United States. These steps were taken by forming an alliance with a U.S. based broker/dealer, bringing support for state-side investors on their platform.
Smartlands Set for Expansion into U.S. with New Agreement