Security Token News
The Best Countries to Launch Your Security Token
Security token offerings (STOs) are now commonplace in the cryptomarket. This unique fundraising strategy gives companies the ability to easily monitor, distribute, and regulate their campaign utilizing blockchain technology. STOs combine the best features of ICOs with the stringent regulations found in particular markets.
Aside from the benefits achieved by companies that use an STO strategy, there are also many reasons why an investor would seek out this type of investment. For one, STOs are far more transparent than an ICO. Companies involved in STOs must reveal sensitive company information including their address, upper management, and financials.
This information further protects investors from the ramped scamming that occurs in the ICO markets. One report published by the Statis Group showed that as much as 80-percent of the ICOs conducted in 2017 turned out to be scams. It’s exactly this fraudulent activity that led to the development of security tokens.
Now that security tokens are more popular, many countries want to host STO related businesses. In order to entice these businesses onto their shores, government officials are ready to make some serious concessions. Below are the best countries to launch your security token.
Malta
The island country of Malta is one of the premier locations to launch your security token. The country embraced blockchain technology from the start. The Maltese Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, issued a public statement this year in which he acknowledged both the fears of regulators “and the fact” that this technology is quickly changing industries across the globe.
Malta via Master Explorer
Maltese officials are serious about their desire to be the leading blockchain country in the world. In the same statement, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of heading the digitization of the economy. He went as far as to state – “we must be the one that others copy.”
Malta is home to some of the largest security token projects currently in the works. In September the Malta Stock Exchange (MSX) announced a partnership with Binance, the world largest exchange by volume. Binance seeks to create a new security token platform in the country in the coming months.
Lithuania
Lithuania made some significant headway last year towards their goal of becoming EU’s security token capital. The country introduced security token friendly regulations. The country’s Minister of Finance issued broad security token regulations that covered the taxation, accounting, issuance, and compliance.
Blockchain companies send their project to a supervisor of financial markets and their office well send back a reply regarding the status of your token. Basically, Lithuanian officials do their version of the Howie Test to your project and give you a solid answer prior to your firm moving forward on their project.
Since Lithuania is a member of the EU, they gained a huge advantage by legalizing and regulating STOs in their country. Government officials hope to entice all of the EU to host their STOs in the country.
Switzerland
Switzerland has a long history as a financial safe haven. The country features low taxes and a crypto friendly environment. Switzerland was one of the first countries to adopt cryptocurrency regulations.
Switzerland has had a pro-crypto stance since 2014 when regulators released a report detailing the significance of cryptocurrencies. Interestingly, the report acknowledged cryptocurrencies handle the same tasks as money but stopped sort of labeling it legal tender due to the lack of an issuing country.
STOs submit their project to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). This regulatory body reviews each STO to confirm what designation the project falls under. Token labels include payment, utility, asset, and hybrid tokens.
Israel
Israel is home to numerous blockchain-based startups. The country leads the world in research & development according to a recent Bloomberg report. The report placed Israel in the number two spot, only behind South Korea in terms of innovators. Israel welcomed blockchain companies by cutting crypto taxes in half in October of this year.
According to a Cryptoslate report, Israel started 2018 with 88 blockchain startup in operation. In March 2018, Israel released an interim report which detailed the regulations for ICOs. The report was intended to strike a “balance between technological innovation and the protection of investors.”
The Israel Security Authority’s ex-head, Prof. Shmuel Hauser went as far as to recommend the country foster the creation of an international blockchain center on his retirement. This move ensures Israel remains a dominant force in the cryptomarket.
Canada
Canada continues to lead the North American crypto revolution. The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) announced in February plans to launch a new securities token platform. The platform is based on the Ethereum Blockchain.
Toronto, Canada is the birthplace of Ethereum and the city continues to be a strong hub for crypto activity. Additionally, the platform allows users to launch their own security token easily. This decision is consistent with Toronto’s desire to be an industry leader.
According to the press release, the new security token platform is designed to give companies an alternative to the ICO space. Kabuni Technologies is the first security token scheduled for launch on the platform. The company also filed a prospectus with the British Columbia Securities Commission (BSCE).
Dubai
Dubai remains a powerful influence in the cryptomarket. The country was one of the first to issue a state-backed cryptocurrency back in October 2017. In February of this year, The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) began to facilitate a market in cryptocurrencies.
The DMCC is a member of the Global Blockchain Council. The project initially began as part of the Dubai Smart City initiative. Speaking on cryptocurrencies, the project’s director, Franco Bosoni, discussed how he could see a commodities-like future for these digital assets. Dubai is now in the middle of developing a robust framework for the security token commodity to operate within.
Security Tokens – A Smart Move
The countries exemplify the innovative spirit and their decision to position their markets in line with the digitization of the economy is sure to pay off. The security token market continues to expand and these countries are now seeing the benefits of their pro crypto stance. You should expect more countries months.
V-Token
Vertalo, the cap-table company making waves in blockchain, has announced the release of its ‘V-Token’ software.
This software, V-Token, is a described by Vertalo as a ‘placeholder’, which will allow for issuers to issue digital securities at a later point in the issuance cycle. Until now, this software has only been available to Vertalo. For those interested, access to V-Token is now open to all token issuers.
Use Case
The purpose of V-Token is to make life easier for potential issuers of digital securities. As it stands, one of the larger hurdles in the space remains the cost associated with the creation of said tokens. The issue is amplified by the fact that this step often takes place prior to a company raising any capital – meaning the company had best be sure that their capital raise is successful, and their token creation wasn’t done in vain.
With this in mind, Vertalo created V-Token for their own usage in 2018. V-Token allows for token creation to occur POST-raise. In doing so, this form of delayed tokenization provides issuers with greater flexibility in their operations.
This token is structured as ERC-20 compliant, while offering various traits, vital to digital securities. This includes trade restrictions, and other measure necessary to be compliant with regulations.
Commentary
Along with their announcing the availability of V-Token, Dave Hendricks, CEO of Vertalo, took the time to comment. The following is what he had to say on the matter.
“The current high cost of tokenization is the main impediment to widespread adoption and roll out of digital assets. Today, Issuers who are interested in digital approaches are being asked to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to design and produce tokens before they have successfully raised capital. The unit economics need to change.”
He continued,
“Free Tokenization is a logical next step in the evolution of the digital asset industry. But as we have seen with previous protocol standards like Ethernet and TCP/IP, it’s difficult to monetize the standards themselves. The role of tokens is naturally subordinate to actually raising capital. It’s been amply demonstrated that investors don’t invest in tokens, or in token standards, rather they invest in companies, assets, access to liquidity, and revenue streams. Free token issuance reduces the risk and complexity of tokenizing assets. Delaying the choice of which security token standard to use until the infrastructure is more fully developed lowers the cost and risk of token implementation.”
Vertalo
Vertalo is a United States based company, which was founded in 2017. Above all, Vertalo functions as a capitalization table specialist, while providing services for investor onboarding and compliance adherence.
Company operations are overseen by CEO, Dave Hendricks. We had the pleasure of interviewing Dave Hendricks earlier this year. Check out this discussion to learn more about Vertalo and their goals.
Interview Series – Dave Hendricks, CEO of Vertalo
In Other News
Vertalo has found themselves a mainstay in our newsfeed over the past few months. Whether providing services which facilitate the completion on an STO, or forming partnerships to advance the industry, Vertalo keeps busy. Here are a few articles detailing what they have been up to lately.
Vertalo to Provide Vital Services to seriesOne
Entoro and Vertalo to Fuse Services to Advance Digital Securities
Vertalo Announces Launch of ‘Lifecycle Management Platform’
Gold Goes Digital
TokenORO has gone live with their token offering. This event, which is aimed towards changing the way small miners raise capital, will see the sale and distribution of security tokens known as ‘ORO’.
This process allows for investors to gain exposure to the gold mining industry, while providing small miners with a more efficient means of raising the capital necessary to grow operations. TokenOro described their missions in 3 main steps.
- Create a financing structure, to stimulate small-company mining, through the use of blockchain technology.
- Produce a ‘gold stream’ through mining operations.
- Establish a ‘vault’, comprised of gold-assets.
To successfully host an STO, TokenOro turned to WORBLI. This Singaporean company will provide the services and structuring necessary to ensure the STO is completed in full compliance with regulations.
This event was originally announced by TokenORO and WORBLI back in January 2019, with the proceedings now going live.
Allocation
What makes this token unique, is how proceeds from the STO will be allocated. Unlike most tokens, which are pegged to a sole form of asset, this will be broken down as follows
- 50% of proceeds go towards purchase of gold, for stable backing of the token
- 50% of proceeds go towards mining endeavours
While investments are divvied up, every action is taken with the goal of increasing holdings of the ‘vault’. With tokens representing fractionalized ownership of the vault, its growth represents an increase in token value. This means that whether the vault is grown through mining operations, or direct deposits through investment, investors benefit through increased token value.
Commentary
Representatives from each, TokenOro and WORBLI, took the time to comment on these developments. The following is was each had to say on the matter.
James McKenzie, Chairman of TokenORO, stated,
“TokenOro is attempting to provide a token that will fundamentally disrupt an industry in a positive way…We’re offering preferred shares of our equity in the form of a digital token, one that is typically only accessible to specific groups. This could begin the long-awaited disintermediation of traditional financial gold oligopolies. TokenOro is looking for prospects that might have a defined resource of up to 10 million ounces of gold, whilst meeting NI43-101 or JORC reporting standards.”
Domenic Thomas, CEO of WORBLI, stated,
“WORBLI is dedicated to empowering businesses like TokenOro, one of many innovative blockchain projects that WORBLI is working with to bring new opportunities to the public. Individuals are traditionally limited to products like exchange based stock trading, mutual funds, and employer-issued retirement accounts. WORBLI is engaging businesses like TokenOro to bring a wider range of financial opportunities to users.”
TokenOro
Based out of Oregon, TokenOro is a mining company looking to rid their industry of inefficiencies. Their goals have led them towards blockchain, as they look to both finance future endeavours, while providing industry players with a platform to efficiently operate.
Company operations are overseen by Chairman, James McKenzie.
WORBLI
WORBLI is a software company based in Singapore. The company launched in 2017, and has set forth with a goal of utilizing blockchain to usher in the next age of finance. They describe this vision as ‘a day in the near future, whereby everybody is able to pay for a product or service in any currency or cryptocurrency of their choice’ – a simple, but significant task.
Company operations are overseen by CEO, Domenic Thomas.
In Other News
While this token is unique in its structuring, it does retain some semblance of a stablecoin. Stablecoins have become increasingly popular among those within the digital securities sector. Here are a couple of articles touching on the development of stablecoins, and their adoption within the industry.
Stablecoins within Digital Securities
Alprockz turns to Fusion for a Jumpstart on Adoption of RKZ Stablecoin
Will Facebook Launch a Stablecoin
Inaugural STO
After months of platform development, Smartlands is ready to build off of past successes. This young company has just announced the launch of their inaugural security token offering.
Taking place through their Stellar based platform, Smartlands will facilitate the tokenization of shares representing fractionalized ownership of a 124 unit real estate development, purpose built as student housing.
While Smartlands is facilitating this security token offering, the event is a product of Shojin Property Partners – A real estate development and investment firm. Shojin Property Partners completed construction of this complex in 2018, and soon after began filling it with residents.
Now, with the help of Smartlands, Shojin hopes to offer investors a new type of opportunity through the use of security tokens.
Details of the Deal
This deal is providing investors with exposure to revenue, garnered from 32 Russell Street, Nottingham, United Kingdom. With Nottingham playing home to multiple universities, it is expected that these units will be in high demand.
While figures may vary, it is forecasted that investo
rs in this project will receive the following benefits.
– Average dividend yield of approximately 5.74% per annum
– Return of 15.72% per annum including capital growth
For those interested in this opportunity, participation is open to retail investors, with a minimum 500 GBP investment.
Commentary
In their announcement, Ilya Obraztsov, VP of Technology at Smartlands, took the time to comment. The following is what he had to say.
“At Smartlands we’re rethinking traditional finance models by building a global ecosystem that democratizes access to alternative investments and opens opportunities to higher-yield projects. By connecting blockchain and the real economy, we create new opportunities for retail investors to participate in institutional-grade deals with a much lower buy-in threshold. And we have our first STO to show for our efforts…The student complex in Nottingham is the first tokenized property in the UK, to be followed with new offerings of blockchain-based securities backed by assets in real estate and other markets.”
Smartlands
Smartlands is a U.K company, headquartered in London. The company was launched in 2017, and has since strived to develop solutions geared towards crowdfunding. This has led to the adoption of blockchain technology, and now security tokens.
Company operations are overseen by CEO, Arnoldas Nauseda.
Shojin Property Partners
Shojin Property Partners are a London based company, which was founded in 2009. Above all, they create investment opportunities through the development of various real estate projects, such as the one described here today.
Shojin Property Partners was acquired by Smartlands in early 2019
In Other News
We have detailed Smartlands multiple times over the past few months. Whether discussing acquisitions, or developmental choices, Smartlands has come a long way in this time. The following are a couple of articles discussing these events.
Smartlands Releases Stellar Powered Wallet Supporting Security Tokens
Smartlands Acquisition Opens New Doors for Crowdfunding