Securitize, a technology provider for the issuance of blockchain tokens, has registered as a transfer agent in the United States Securities and Exchange Administration (SEC). The company believes that the registration can be a trigger for adopting security tokens, because it unlocks the negotiation of these assets.
Thus, Securitize has become able to act as the official keeper of records on the ownership changes of security tokens. While this may seem redundant, since assets transfers are traceable in the blockchain, the San Francisco startup says it is convenient.
According to the co-founder and CEO of Securitize, Carlos Domingo, the company may boost the amount of security tokens in circulation. The reasoning is that in this way, the Americans would feel more comfortable in buying and selling these tokens, since it is a regulated environment. “ The SEC began to approve other types of exempt securities, such as Reg A +. And later on these people will need transfer agents”, claims Domingo.
Securitize offers registration for free after SEC’s approval
As an additional attractive feature, the company is offering the registration of transfers for free. Normally, this operation would cost about US$ 150 per transfer for regular securities registered by the SEC, said Domingo. In addition, Securitize will charge for the management of securities and corporate acts, such as payment of dividends and interest, votes and buyback of shareholders and shares.
The approval of the SEC after the official dispatch took only 10 days. However, Securitize has worked for about six months to ensure that the regulator understood how the company’s smart contracts would keep a record of the transfers.
Securitize claims to be the first SEC- registered transfer agent with a functional blockchain protocol, with active securities issuers and integrations that allow digital securities to be traded on alternative trade systems (ATSs) registered at SEC, including OpenFinance Network, tZERO and Sharepost.
US$ 200 million in securities
Recently, Securitize announced its eleventh digital security value issued. The total value of these bonds is almost US$ 200 million. Five of them are traded on an ATS regulated and registered by the SEC.
In two rounds of funding, the company raised US$ 15 million. Currently, the company has 43 customers. Of these, 11 issued bonds in the Ethereum blockchain. Securitize has also joined Tezos, but it still does not have customers who use this blockchain.
