(Bloomberg) -- MERJ Exchange Ltd. said it is raising $4 million in the world's first initial public offering of a tokenized security on a national stock exchange.
The IPO on the Seychelles Stock Exchange values the company at $25 million, MERJ said in a statement. MERJ, which operates the exchange, is selling 1.65 million shares at $2.42 each.
Tokenized stocks are digital assets representing shares in a company. The use of blockchain technology, a decentralized ledger that underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, allows the easy transfer of these assets between buyers and sellers, potentially reducing costs. Because they are classified as securities, regulatory hurdles have so far prevented bourses from launching such products.
“These novel financial instruments are here to reshape the financial industry for years to come,” said Edmond Tuohy, MERJ's chief executive officer.
Tuohy has previously said there are likely to be further tokenized listings in the Seychelles exchange. The tokens use ethereum technology.
To contact the reporter on this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: John McCorry at jmccorry@bloomberg.net, Rene Vollgraaff
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