US fintech company Superstate has raised $82.5 million to build a platform for companies to issue and trade shares via public blockchains. The company wants to modernize the traditional process of an initial public offering (IPO).
Shares directly on the blockchain
The investment round was led by Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global, with the participation of several well-known parties from the crypto world. According to Superstate, the capital injection marks a next step towards so-called on-chain capital markets: financial markets that run directly on the blockchain.
Superstate wants to enable companies to issue and trade regulated shares on public blockchains such as Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL). Instead of complex and often slow systems with banks, clearing houses and depositories, ownership and transactions are recorded directly on the blockchain.
According to the company, this makes the process faster, more transparent and cheaper, while remaining within existing laws and regulations. Superstate is registered as a transfer agent with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the American regulator of the financial markets.
From government bonds to IPOs
Superstate currently manages more than $1.2 billion in assets through two tokenized funds. The largest fund consists of US government bonds that are digitally packaged and traded via the blockchain.
These types of products are rapidly gaining popularity because they give investors access to relatively safe returns, but with the speed and flexibility of crypto infrastructure.
With the new capital, Superstate wants to go further than bonds. The company is building a so-called issuance layer: a technical and legal framework that allows companies to directly issue digital shares, including real-time settlement and ownership registration.
Broad trend in the financial world
Superstate’s step fits into a broader development in which traditional financial products are increasingly linked to blockchain technology.
Major parties are already experimenting with tokenized securities and money market funds. For example, BlackRock previously launched a digital fund that runs on the blockchain and now attracts billions in assets.
Proponents see tokenization as a fundamental innovation of the financial infrastructure. Opponents point out that the technology has yet to prove itself on a large scale and that supervision and consumer protection remain crucial.
It is still uncertain whether IPOs via the blockchain will become the norm. But the investment in Superstate shows that major investors believe the way companies raise capital is changing. At the same time, this shows that the industry is more than just Bitcoin (BTC).
Source: https://newsbit.nl/startup-haalt-82-miljoen-dollar-op-voor-beursgangen-via-de-blockchain/
