29.03.2024

German Bank to Offer Tokenized Securities Based on Stellar

Tokenization can simplify equity sales and eliminate much of the associated frictional costs, according to the bank. «Securities can be traded directly without an intermediary, making financing much cheaper and less complicated,» a bank representative wrote Monday.

One of the oldest banks in Europe is developing a special-purpose euro stablecoin that can facilitate private placements in tokenized securities.

Munich-based Bank von der Heydt, established in 1754, announced Monday it had partnered with blockchain financial services provider Bitbond to help integrate tokenization into its established securitization platform.

The partnership will allow the bank to tokenize digital securities onto the stellar blockchain, which it can offer to institutional clients via private placements.

There are no plans for von der Heydt to enable broader public access to the platform.

Clients will be able to securely store tokenized equity in a custody solution developed by Bitbond and von der Heydt in 2019. The solution received approval from the German financial regulator BaFin after changes in the law meant providers required a license to continue offering cryptocurrency custody.

Investors will be able to purchase tokenized equity using a euro stablecoin that will also be issued by von der Heydt. Clients will be able to convert euros into stablecoins, which can also be stored in the bank’s custody solution.

Radoslav Albrecht, Bitbond founder and CEO, told CoinDesk that «digital euro payments will happen much faster, there will be a real-time on-chain DvP (delivery versus payment of securities) and the bank doesn’t need to involve a third-party paying agent but can provide everything independently.»

A production version will be deployed at the beginning of April, according to Albrecht.

Bitbond recieved BaFin approval for its tokenized bond in January 2019, going on to launch Germany’s first regulated security token offering (STO) later that year. Established in 2013, the firm originally operated as a blockchain-based lending platform for small businesses, raising more than €5 million ($5.4 million) in 2017 to finance new loans.

Genesis Trading Acquires Quant Investment Firm Qu Capital

Digital currency trader and lender Genesis expanded its trading and research capabilities Thursday by acquiring New York-based quantitative investment firm Qu Capital.

In an interview with CoinDesk, Genesis CEO Michael Moro said Qu Capital initially approached his company to use its trading and lending services early this year. Genesis then decided to acquire Qu Capital to integrate its in-house team and expand its trading and lending businesses.

Moro declined to disclose financial terms of the deal.

Some of the technologies in use by Qu Capital are needed by Genesis to build its internal team, according to Moro. For example, one of the patented products acquired is a smart order routing system to facilitate transactions between cryptocurrency exchanges and investors.

Upon the acquisition, Genesis has hired two of the three founders Lucas Schuermann, Edward Yu and one junior staff member out of the six-person team at Qu Capital.

“We have been very impressed with the Qu Capital team and believe they will provide key technology enhancements that will benefit our trading and lending clients”, Moro said.

Genesis struck its first acquisition deal as its crypto-related lending business saw $746 million in loans in the second quarter, increasing its total originations to $2.3 billion since its launch in March 2018. The company provides high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors with over-the-counter digital currency trading and leading services,.

Investment startup Qu Capital, founded in 2017, develop trading technology, including exchange connectivity, order routing, and execution tools.

“We are excited to add the Qu Capital tools, which incorporate machine learning and other advanced methodologies, into our existing technology stack and new product offerings”, Pat DeFrancesco, CTO of Genesis, said in a statement announcing the acquisition.

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