MERJ Lists World’s First Tokenized Stock on Seychelles Bourse
MERJ Lists World’s First Tokenized Stock on Seychelles Bourse
(Bloomberg) -- MERJ Exchange Ltd. said it completed the first-ever listing of a tokenized security on a national stock exchange, beating competitors from Zurich to Gibraltar.
The listing by introduction on the bourse operated by MERJ, the Seychelles Stock Exchange, was completed on Wednesday and will be followed by a sale of 16% of MERJ’s shares through the new securities later this year, it said in a statement.
Tokenized stocks are digital assets representing shares in a company. The use of blockchain technology, a decentralized ledger that underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, allows the easy transfer of these assets between buyers and sellers, potentially reducing costs. Because they are classified as securities, regulatory hurdles have so far prevented bourses from launching such products.
“MERJ plans to use blockchain technology to streamline every process that takes place in securities markets - from issuance to shareholder registers, to compliance, distribution and voting - ultimately reducing costs for investors,” the Indian Ocean archipelago’s bourse said.
MERJ will be using ethereum technology for this tokenized listing and several that it expects to follow.
To contact the reporter on this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: John McCorry at jmccorry@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax, Michael Gunn
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