Key Takeaways
- Signum Digital has received an “approval-in-principle” from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to operate a STO and subscription platform, which will be the first of its kind in Hong Kong.
- This license will allow Signum Digital to serve professional investors and provide funding for issuers with qualified projects in Hong Kong and international markets.
- The license granted to Signum Digital has the potential to revolutionize the way that businesses raise capital.
In recent years, there has been a growing trend towards Security Token Offerings (STOs) as a new way to raise capital and invest in real-world assets using blockchain technology. Hong Kong-based Signum Digital Limited, a joint venture between Coinstreet and Somerley, has received an approval-in-principle from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for its security token offering (STO) and subscription platform. This is the first such license granted in Hong Kong.
Security tokens represent ownership in real-world assets such as real estate, which reduces risk for investors and may underpin the market value of the offering. Blockchain technology provides a transparent and efficient basis for digital assets to be traded in real-time, with transactions permanently and immutably recorded on the blockchain.
If it satisfies final approval conditions from the SFC, Signum Digital will be allowed to operate a security token offering and subscription platform under the brand of CS-Pro, serving professional investors and providing funding for issuers with qualified projects in Hong Kong and international markets.
The license aims to fill a gap in the market by providing high-quality alternative investment opportunities for professional investors, and offering SMEs funding options beyond traditional fundraising channels.
Signum Digital’s platform combines Coinstreet’s security digitization and asset tokenization expertise with Somerley’s grounding in best practice for conventional corporate finance. The STOs distributed by Signum Digital are backed by real assets and income streams and are considered a medium-risk way for professional investors to participate in future opportunities offered by digital assets.
The platform aims to offer professional investors a fully compliant asset tokenization offering and distribution model that may cover a wide array of asset types and classes ranging from private equities, debts, income bearing notes, real estate, investment funds, commodities, and fixed assets, to carbon credits, arts & collectibles, and other alternative investment assets.
The SFC’s license to Signum’s STO platform is groundbreaking and has the potential to revolutionize the way businesses raise capital, according to QReg Advisory, which advised Signum on the design of the STO platform.
The events of 2022 may have shaken investor confidence in parts of the crypto world, but professional investors still believe that digital assets will play a pivotal role in the future of finance. STOs distributed by Signum Digital, backed by real assets and income streams, are in their view a medium-risk way of participating in future opportunities.
With the approval of the first-ever STO and subscription platform by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, it is clear that STOs are becoming an increasingly important part of the financial landscape. This new development is expected to create a ripple effect across the financial industry as more investors and businesses recognize the potential benefits of using STOs to access capital and investment opportunities.
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