In whatâs being called a first for Switzerland, a company has been allowed to incorporate for an initial public offering (IPO) of tokenized shares on a blockchain.
In a press release Wednesday, the firmâs adviser, Andriotto Financial Services, said Coldrerio, Switzerland-based OverFuture SAâs articles of incorporation directly reference âthe digital nature of the shares (tokens) and the use of the blockchain as the technology to keep the shareholders registry.â
The firmâs IPO prospectus indicates an offering of 8,399,000 âcommon equity share security tokensâ on the ethereum blockchain, with smart contracts provided by with EURO DAXX, a digital assets exchange based in the countryâs âCrypto Valleyâ city of Zug. The offering price will be â¬1.25 ($1.38) per share.
Andriotto Financial Services said the news promises âa huge revolution for the financial industry because blockchain allows [the firm] to launch an IPO and organize secondary market transactions without the involvement of many traditional players as: banks, financial intermediaries, broker-dealers, central depositary systems, notaries, etc.â
It is not stated which regulator approved the company for the digital IPO, however the prospectus states OverFuture is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). CoinDesk has reached out for clarification.
OverFuture has no commercial activities of its own, but focuses on the âstrategic objectives and fundingâ of its Italian subsidiary, WEL s.r.l., ââa software company, specialized in the digitalization of processes by means of [internet of things], wearable and digital signage technologies,â according to LinkedIn.