Digital Securities
Horizon Fintex (Globex) & Upstream: The Evolution of Digital Securities
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From “Globex” to Upstream: A Tech Evolution
In 2019, Horizon Globex (now Horizon Fintex) made headlines by partnering with luxury brands like Timeless Luxury Group to launch compliant Digital Security Offerings (DSOs). While the specific tokens from that era had varying degrees of commercial success, the underlying technology stack described in those early announcements—Tokenetics, KYCware, and AMLcop—did not disappear. Instead, it evolved into one of the retail market’s most significant platforms: Upstream.
What Happened to the Tech?
The suite of services originally marketed as separate modules (Custodyware, Tokenetics) was integrated to build a full-fledged stock exchange.
Today, Horizon Fintex operates Upstream, a MERJ Exchange market. Unlike the fragmented landscape of 2019, Upstream allows retail investors to trade digital securities, tokenized IPOs, and celebrity ventures directly from a smartphone app. The platform uses the Ethereum blockchain for settlement but maintains full compliance with U.S. and international securities regulations.
The Evolution of Leadership
The 2019 coverage highlighted TriPoint Global Equities and its CEO Mark Elenowitz as key partners. This relationship has also evolved significantly.
Mark Elenowitz left TriPoint in 2020 and is now the President of Horizon Fintex and a Managing Director at Digital Offering LLC. Digital Offering serves as the brokerage arm that feeds deals into the Upstream exchange. This shift consolidated the technology and the brokerage services under a unified leadership structure, streamlining the process for issuers.
Timeless Luxury Group: Where Are They Now?
The Timeless Luxury Group (Switzerland) mentioned in the original report was an early adopter of the DSO model. While they announced an ambitious plan to tokenize assets ranging from wine to real estate, the project did not achieve widespread secondary market liquidity compared to modern successes.
Note: Investors should not confuse the Swiss “Timeless Luxury Group” with “Timeless Investments” (a Berlin-based collectibles platform) or “Timeless Software” (8028.HK), which are separate entities also operating in the asset management space.
The Legacy: A Blueprint for Compliance
The collaboration detailed in 2019 was a “beta test” for the industry. It proved that complex regulations (Reg D, Reg S) could be codified into smart contracts. The “zero lag settlement” promised by Globex years ago is now a standard feature on the Upstream app, allowing users to settle trades instantly using USDC or fiat currency, proving that the early vision of 2019 eventually became a reality.
