Early this week, a New York-based regulated financial institution announced plans to launch a blockchain-based settlement platform for a limited number of U.S. equities. The platform will reportedly help clients reduce fees and gain access to capital that is otherwise unavailable through the legacy settlement system. The financial institution recently received a "no-action" letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which means the SEC will not take any enforcement action against the institution for its platform. According to reports, two multinational financial services firms will be the first to use the financial institution's settlement service once those firms obtain additional approvals from the SEC.
3iQ, a Canadian investment fund manager focused on digital asset technologies, announced earlier this week that the Ontario Securities Commission issued a favorable ruling regarding the Bitcoin Fund, a closed-end bitcoin fund that is expected to be listed for trading on a major Canadian stock exchange. According to reports, Gemini Trust Company LLC, a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange and trust company, will operate as the custodian of the bitcoin in the fund.
Overseas, Sygnum, a digital asset technology group based in Singapore and Switzerland, recently obtained a capital markets services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The license allows the group to offer private qualified investors a curated portfolio of digital assets. Also this week, tZero announced plans to partner with a U.K.-based direct-to-developer real estate investment company to tokenize the company's 180-unit luxury residential development and issue tokens on the Tezos Blockchain. According to reports, this offering will be the U.K.'s first real estate-backed security token offering.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Paxos to launch settlement of U.S.-listed equities after SEC’s no-action letter
- 3iQ's "The Bitcoin Fund" Receives Favourable Ruling from Ontario Securities Commission Panel
- Sygnum granted capital markets services (CMS) licence for asset management in Singapore
- tZERO Partners with Alliance Investments to Tokenize River Plaza, a Luxury Real Estate Development in Manchester, UK
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