Digital securities continue to see further adoption by traditional investment firms for many reasons. These tokens remove many of the barriers encountered by investors and streamline the entire security process from issuance to oversight. Additionally, they provide new market opportunities to nonliquidable investments. For all these reasons and many more, security tokens are here to stay.
Digital securities, or security tokens, come in many forms. All of these forms share one thing in common, they are digital representations of securities, and therefore, subject to traditional securities laws. Importantly, not all digital assets are security tokens.
Security tokens emerged at the tail end of the 2017 bull market run in response to the rising amount of fraud in the space. Investors lost billions on Ponzi schemes such as Bitconnect. Real projects needed a way to distinguish their tokens from the scamsters and traditional investment firms needed to utilize blockchain technology in a regulated manner.
Digital Securities are Born
Digital securities can represent all types of assets including investment contracts, shares of a corporation, a portion of a note, debt security, or even a fractionalized interest. Basically, any electronically registered and transferable debt, equity, or asset that issues or trades using blockchain technology is a security token.
Digital Securities Statistics
Benefits of Digital Securities
The benefits blockchain technology brings to the sector are immense. For one, ownership is verified and recorded on a distributed ledger. This provides a more secure alternative than traditional methods. Additionally, blockchain technology allows for the transfer of private and non-listed alternative assets. Consequently, security tokens provide more opportunity, efficiency, and liquidity in the market.
Regulations Enforcement
Security tokens wouldn’t exist if smart contracts never entered the scene. These preprogrammed protocols can be developed directly into the token. This strategy allows for the automatic enforcement of all regulations. Basically, smart contracts help eliminate much of the redundant paper-based processes currently in use.
Types of Digital Securities
Today, there are more types of security tokens than ever before. The market continues to develop as more advantageous tokenization concepts emerge. You should expect to see this trend continue as security tokens lend themselves perfectly to many markets. Below are the most common types of digital securities in use today.
Real Estate
The real estate sector experienced an explosion of tokenization strategies over the last year. Both developers and tokenization platforms went all-in on tokenizing property. Tokenized real estate has some clear advantages. For one, it allows for the sale to be fractionalized. This strategy lowers the entry-level for investors and provides more opportunities for diversification.
The tokenization platform Polymath made headlines in September 2018 after inking a partnership with the real estate development firm BlockEstate. As part of the strategy, the Block Estate Alpha Token, or BEAT was born. This token utilized Polymaths unique Ethereum token standard ST-20 to ensure that the project remained compliant. Each token represented a share in the ownership of the fund.
Venture Capital
Perhaps one of the most popular ways in which digital securities see use is venture capital. Security token offerings (STOs) provide business with all the benefits of blockchain technology such as global reach, added security, and instant trackability. Additionally, STOs allow companies to stay within the regulatory guidelines of their industry and region when hosting a crowdfunding event.
Swarm Fund – Digital Securities
A perfect example of this strategy in use is the 2017 STO hosted by the Swarm Fund. This tokenization platform secured $5,500,000 to further develop its security token and exchange ecosystem. Today, the Swarm token has a market cap of around $2.18 million. Notably, the platform partnered with Techstars directly following the campaign.
Private Equity
Private equity is another type of security token that continues to see more adoption in the space. These security tokens can also go by the name equity tokens. Equity token offerings (ETO) are more popular than ever before because tokenized equity provides more liquidity in the market.
Tesla’s ambitious owner, Elon Musk intends to tokenize equity in the SpaceX program. Earlier in the year, he partnered with the tokenization firm USPX to bring the concept to life. Interestingly, the regulatory protocol development fell under the responsibilities of another firm, Ambisafe. Notably, each token represents one share in the investment fund.
Real Assets
One of the best features of tokenization is that it can be applied to so many types of assets. Real assets such as gold or diamonds already live on the blockchain. Not surprisingly, these tokens were among the first type of security tokens to emerge.
While the concept of tokenizing assets like gold isn’t anything new to the market per se, the ramifications of these maneuvers are evident. For one, tokenization platforms now seek to not just tokenize gold but to utilize the gold tethered token as a new form of stablecoin.
Stablecoins are coin tethered to real-world assets such as the USD, or in this scenario, gold. These tokens allow users to get the benefits of cryptocurrency but avoid all of the volatility found in the market today.
Hedge Funds
Tokenized hedge funds are another perfect example of digital securities. Hedge funds are a great way to diversify your portfolio. Traditional hedge funds are restricted in their trading times and the methods used to transfer these assets are outdated. Tokenized hedge funds create a frictionless experience for investors.
The Protos Hedge Fund includes a number of the top cryptocurrencies in existence. The fund sold $6.5 million during its primary issuance. Notably, Protos was the first licensed tokenized hedge fund to trade on an Alternative Trading System (ATS) in the US.
Digital Securities – A Bright Future
Now that you understand what digital securities are, its easy to see why they continue to see adoption in the market. These new-age financial tools provide more investment opportunities and reduce the workload and costs usually associated with these transactions. You can expect to see security tokens become more popular as these advantages become common investment knowledge.
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source https://www.tokentalk.co/Securities/what-are-digital-securities-5ddf06820be66f657151d5c6
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