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 for digital asset securities of the Spanish Ministry of Finance and the General Secretariat of International Finance. As a result, Securitize began issuing tokens representing equity in Spanish real estate investment trust Mancipi Partners.
Tokenization involves converting traditional 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, said:
Securitize is now the first company able to issue and trade tokenized securities in the U.S. and Europe, and the first to do so under the EU’s new digital asset pilot regime.
Securitize sees Spain’s sandbox environment as key
The Spanish Ministry of Finance and the General Secretariat of International Finance approved the company to deploy digital asset securities to a selected group of businesses and investors, subject to supervisory conditions. According to the press release, this approval represents Securitize’s latest achievement in the European market.
Securitize sees Spain’s sandbox environment as an important milestone, enabling the company to conduct real-world trials before obtaining the required licenses.
After a six-month period, the company received approval for the EU pilot regime, enabling Securitize to continue issuing, managing and trading tokenized securities in Spain and the wider EU.
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 company partnered with asset manager Hamilton Lane to enhance investor exposure by offering tokenized securities.
Amparo Garcia Flores, CEO of European Brokerage and Markets, mentioned:
This is not just theoretical work, we are proving that what we do in the US is also possible in Europe. This means we can open up the market to both sides of the Atlantic, effectively doubling the size of our business and opportunities for European issuers who previously did not have the same opportunities as their US counterparts.
In the United States, the company provides a range of services covering the entire life cycle of security tokens. These services include issuance, capital increase, dividend distribution, shareholders' meetings, redemption, and facilitating securities trading in the secondary market.
A considerable part of the company's technical team is composed of Spanish professionals.
