Securitize expands regulated operations to Europe with operations approval in Spain

Securitize announced on December 17 that it has obtained approval from the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) as an Investment Firm. The company also registered Securitize Europe Brokerage and Markets, S.A., to operate as a Sociedad de Valores (broker-dealer).

The firm hopes to provide services for blockchain-based financial assets, including acting as an Entidad Responsable de Inscripción y Registro (ERIR). The Investment Firm revealed that it can now tokenize, manage, and facilitate the lifecycle of cryptocurrencies in Europe.

CNMV authorization unlocks blockchain-based investment opportunities

📢 Securitize is pleased to announce its approval by the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) as an Investment Firm, registering Securitize Europe Brokerage and Markets, S.A. to operate as a Sociedad de Valores (broker dealer).

This milestone enables us to… pic.twitter.com/syTivDs44C

— Securitize (@Securitize) December 17, 2024

The firm maintained that the CNMV’s approval highlights the integration of blockchain technology into traditional financial systems under Spain’s progressive legal structure. The technology company also acknowledged its compliance with Spain’s Securities Market Law (Ley del Mercado de Valores) and its alignment with European Union regulations such as MiFID II.

The investment firm noted that it may provide investment services such as tokenization of financial instruments. It also said it hopes to operate a DLT trading and settlement system, which is pending approval under the Pilot Regulation. Apart from acting as an ERIR, the company said it can offer all these services within a regulated environment that ensures robust investor protection and operational transparency.

“Our approval as an Investment Firm and namely the ability to act as an ERIR in Spain is an important milestone for Securitize.”

– Carlos Domingo, Co-founder and CEO of Securitize.

Domingo also revealed that the approval will enable the company to tokenize, manage, and facilitate the lifecycle of digital securities in Europe. The CEO hopes that the approval will create new opportunities for issuers to raise capital. He also believes investors will get to access innovative, blockchain-powered investment opportunities under one regulatory-compliant platform.

Securitize continues its European influence

The firm disclosed that it became the first platform to issue digital asset securities in both the U.S. and Europe. Securitize announced on July 23, 2023, that it commenced the issuance of tokenized securities in Europe.

Domingo also acknowledged that the company is the first to be able to issue and trade tokenized securities in both the U.S. and Europe. He added that the firm is the first to do so under the EU’s Pilot Regime for digital assets. The company was allowed to proceed with issuing, managing, and trading tokenized securities in Spain and the broader EU.

The firm’s CEO also acknowledged that European businesses will have a new way to raise capital via primary capital raises and obtain tax benefits and liquidity through secondary trading.

In October 2022, the firm partnered with asset management firm Hamilton Lane to enhance investor exposure by offering tokenized securities. Amparo Garcia Flores, CEO of Securitize Europe Brokerage and Markets, said it is proving that what it has in the USA is also feasible in Europe.

Flores also revealed why opening their markets to both sides of the Atlantic was important. She said that it effectively doubled the size of the company and the opportunities for issuers in Europe who previously had different opportunities than their American counterparts.

The firm was allowed to deploy digital asset securities to a select group of businesses and investors under supervision from the Spanish General Secretariat of the Treasury and International Finance.

The investment firm offers a range of services in the U.S., including issuance, dividend distribution, capital increases, redemptions, shareholder meetings, and facilitating securities trading in the secondary market.

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