Blockchain Share Register Platform Bows
BNP Paribas Securities Services and crowdfunding outfit SmartAngels have developed a share register management platform using blockchain.
SmartAngels is a crowdfunding platform in France for direct investment in the capital of start-ups and small/medium businesses by individual and professional investors. SmartAngels has been approved as a Crowdfunding Investor Adviser (CIP) by the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) since February, 2015.
BNP Paribas Securities Services is a securities services provider backed by the BNP Paribas Group. It provides multi- asset post-trade and asset-servicing solutions for institutional participants in the investment cycle, from the buy-side and sell-side to corporates and issuers.
The new platform allows unlisted companies to digitalize their financial securities and manage their shareholder register using a distributed ledger. BNP Paribas Securities Services and SmartAngels have developed features that will enable unlisted companies to manage the various stages in the lifecycle of their financial securities from their issuance to transactions.
The companies said the share registers of five clients were loaded onto the platform during testing, including connectivity service SigFox, as well as four startup clients.
Nelson Fernandes, blockchain senior business lead at BNP Paribas Securities Services, said the next phase of the project will entail the “industrialization” of the platform before commercializing it. SmartAngels will also take to market a range of share register digitization and portfolio monitoring services.
“We are delighted to be working with SmartAngels on this project and to welcome Sigfox onto the platform during the test phase,” said Fernandes. “We have identified where the processes relating to issuing, buying, and selling unlisted stocks needs to be optimized. Our platform aims to deliver a digital solution that meets the needs of all market participants and professionals in these markets.”
