The Principality of Monaco has selected security tokens issuance platform Tokeny as its partner in its move to enable fundraising on the blockchain for environmentally and social governance focused startups.
Announcing the news on Thursday, Tokeny Solutions said that the government of Monaco through its ministry of state signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Luxemburg-based startup making it the de facto partner in the journey to enable issuance of securitized tokens in Monaco. Securitized tokens (STOs) are tokens adhering to securities laws such as those proscribed within the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 in the United States.
Tokeny Solutions will support STO offerings on the Ethereum blockchain for issuers creating ERC-20 compliant tokens. Tokeny Solutions will serve as the platform on which the STOs will be conducted and their job will be to oversee the token sales including ensuring issuers adhere to appropriate laws in their relevant jurisdictions.
For instance, if an issuer is based in the United States and would like to gain access to investors in Monaco (thus launching an STO in Monaco), they will first need to adhere to SEC rules such as filing a Reg A and D forms before pursuing a listing on the Tokeny platform.
This news comes a week after the government of Monaco passed a bill allowing for the launch of an STO platform for securitized tokens issuance. Additionally, the government of Monaco also implemented a framework to support the issuance of these STOs in the country.
One important specification in the framework is that all projects to be issued on the Tokeny platform (in Monaco) will have to get approval from the government. “The framework will thus aim to protect investors and project owners through quality control of the issuing companies and of the investors,” Tokeny announced.
“Monaco is moving towards its ambition to become a funding nation for progress with our STO framework,” Frédéric Genta, the Delegate for Digital of Affairs of the Principality of Monaco said in a statement. “Two key milestones were achieved; a dedicated STO law was voted by the National Council and we are welcoming Tokeny to the Principality to operate our STOs.”
Tokeny Solutions is currently setting up shop in Monaco in preparation for the execution of its new mandate in the country.
Commenting on the development, the company’s CEO Luc Falempin said that,
“The lack of high quality tokenized assets has been a stumbling block in the tokenization industry.” He added “With the mandatory label, projects selected by the Principality of Monaco will be easily recognized by investors as serious and quality investment opportunities. Then, the rights of investors will be guaranteed by their on chain identity. For the issuer, AML and KYC will be automatically enforced in any transfer.”
The first STO to be listed on the soon to launch platform is IceBreaker, a content development platform co-created by producer Sophokles Tasioulis and Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Luc Jacquet. The latter is famous for creating the blockbuster documentary film ‘March of the Penguins.’
“IceBreaker intends to leverage the blockchain technology to facilitate the financing of meaningful content production while retaining all associated rights enabling thus new monetization opportunities via films, exhibitions, etc.” He said adding “March of the Penguins and the subsequent Antarctica exhibition have demonstrated that the model can be a profitable one making it appealing to investors while preserving the freedom to express my creativity and promoting the virtuous and value of the projects I carry.”
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