Taurus Expands Tokenization Efforts with Aktionariat Partnership

TLDR

• Taurus SA and Aktionariat AG partner to enable trading of tokenized shares from Swiss SMEs
• Tokenized shares will be traded on Taurus Digital Exchange (TDX)
• RealUnit Schweiz AG will be the first company to list tokenized shares on TDX
• The initiative aims to improve liquidity access for Swiss SMEs
• Taurus previously partnered with Teylor to tokenize SME loans

Swiss financial technology companies Taurus SA and Aktionariat AG have joined forces to enable the tokenization and trading of shares from small- and medium-sized Swiss enterprises (SMEs).

This collaboration aims to provide new trading opportunities for investors on the Taurus Digital Exchange (TDX) platform.

Aktionariat’s tokenization solution will allow companies to convert their traditional shares into blockchain-based tokens on the Ethereum network.

These tokenized shares will retain the same economic and social rights as conventional shares. The key difference is that they can be traded more easily on digital platforms like TDX.

The initiative is set to launch in November, with RealUnit Schweiz AG, an investment company focused on real assets, being the first to list its tokenized shares on TDX. RealUnit Schweiz AG had previously tokenized its shares through Aktionariat in April 2022.

Dani Stüssi, CEO of RealUnit Schweiz AG, expressed enthusiasm about the development, stating that the company will be “one of the first Swiss companies to offer tokenized instruments.”

He added that being admitted to trade on TDX is a natural progression in their journey to increase accessibility and liquidity for investors.

The collaboration between Taurus and Aktionariat is expected to improve liquidity access for Swiss SMEs. By enabling tokenized shares to be traded on TDX, these companies can potentially attract a wider range of investors.

The tokenized shares allow investors to hold equity digitally, with options for both bearer shares and registered shares.

Taurus will admit shares tokenized by Aktionariat to its TDX platform. This move will open up access to Taurus’s network of banks, investors, and retail clients, potentially increasing the trading volume and liquidity of these tokenized assets.

Victor Busson, chief marketing officer at Taurus SA, explained that in case of a tokenized share loss when self-custodying the assets outside of a marketplace, it is possible for the issuer to mint new tokens in accordance with the shareholder registry. This feature provides an additional layer of security for investors.

The partnership between Taurus and Aktionariat is not Taurus’s first venture into tokenization. In December 2023, Taurus partnered with German fintech firm Teylor to begin tokenizing SME loans.

This collaboration allowed professional private debt investors to participate in blockchain-based secondary markets for returns.

Lamine Brahimi, managing partner and co-founder at Taurus, noted that the partnership with Teylor enabled smaller investments and token trading, marking the first private debit portfolio tokenization.

The move towards tokenizing shares and other financial instruments represents a growing trend in the financial technology sector.

By leveraging blockchain technology, companies aim to increase the accessibility and liquidity of traditionally less liquid assets, such as shares in SMEs.

As more companies adopt tokenization, it could potentially reshape how smaller businesses access capital and how investors trade in these assets.