Securitize, a US-based blockchain company known for its expertise in tokenizing real-world assets, has expanded its operations to Europe.
The company entered the specialized sandbox of the General Secretariat of the Treasury and International Finance of Spain for digital asset values. Consequently, Securitize began issuing tokens representing shares in Mancipi Partners, a Spanish real estate investment fund.
Tokenization involves converting conventional financial assets, such as stocks and bonds, into digital tokens and issuing them on a blockchain platform.
This marks its first European trial, allowing Securitize to demonstrate its capabilities in the European market. Carlos Domingo, co-founder of Securitize, stated:
Securitize is now the first company to be able to issue and trade tokenized securities in the US and Europe, and is the first company to do so under the new EU pilot regime for digital assets.
Securitize considers Spain’s sandbox environment key
Under supervised conditions, the Spanish General Secretariat of the Treasury and International Finance has approved the company to implement digital asset securities for a select group of companies and investors. According to the press release, this approval represents a recent achievement for Securitize in the European market.
Securitize views the Spain sandbox as a crucial milestone, allowing the company to conduct real-world testing before acquiring the necessary licenses.
After a period of six months, the company obtains the approval of the European Union Pilot Regime, which allows Securitize to proceed with the issuance, management and trading of tokenized securities in Spain and the EU in general.
The shares have been tokenized on the Avalanche blockchain, and secondary trading of these tokenized shares is expected to begin in September.
In May, the firm partnered with asset management firm Hamilton Lane to increase investor exposure by offering tokenized securities.
Amparo García Flores, CEO of Securitize Europe Brokerage And Markets, mentioned:
This is not just theoretical work; we are showing that what we have in the US is viable in Europe. This means we can open up our market on both sides of the Atlantic, effectively doubling the size of our business and the opportunities for issuers in Europe that previously did not have the same opportunities as their US peers.
In the US, the company offers a range of services that cover the entire lifecycle of a security token. These services include issuance, capital increase, dividend distribution, shareholder meetings, redemptions and facilitation of securities trading in the secondary market.