ChainCatcher news, according to Ledger Insights, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) opened the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) for applications at the end of September, relaxing certain rules for DLT market infrastructure. The two entities that have been announced to receive preliminary approval are (expected) Central Securities Depository (CSD) Montis (owned by Archax) and ClearToken, which plans to operate as a central clearinghouse for crypto and tokenized assets. ClearToken has received support from companies such as Nomura Securities' Laser Digital and Standard Chartered's Zodia Custody.Similar to the EU's DLT pilot regime, the DSS program aims to relax the requirement that exchanges and central securities depositories must always be separate (which can sometimes be impractical for DLT).

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the European digital securities issuance platform STOKR has completed a $7.98 million financing round, planning to use most of the funds to establish one of the first corporate Bitcoin reserves in Europe. This round of financing was led by Fulgur Ventures, including 100 Bitcoins (approximately $6.78 million) and €1.2 million in cash (totaling €7.4 million).STOKR stated that it will follow MicroStrategy's strategy and actively expand its Bitcoin reserves in the coming years. Additionally, the company plans to launch Bitcoin-based tokenized assets and develop institutional tokenization infrastructure on native Bitcoin Layer 2 technologies (such as Liquid Network). STOKR's co-CEO Arnab Naskar said that establishing a Bitcoin reserve is an important step for the platform's development in the field of Bitcoin derivatives tokenization.Furthermore, according to the Web3 asset data platform RootData, STOKR is a digital marketplace for alternative investments, allowing users to access a diversified world of alternative assets through investments in Bitcoin mining, real estate, music royalties, and more. At STOKR, both institutional and retail investors can access diverse and high-quality investment opportunities while retaining direct control over their investments. STOKR is regulated as a virtual asset service provider by the Luxembourg CSSF (Financial Supervisory Authority), providing turnkey solutions for young and growing companies seeking capital in the EU. These solutions cover all elements of institutional-grade asset tokenization, including complex investment structures, smart contract management, AML/KYC verification, payment rails (both cryptocurrency and fiat), and comprehensive lifecycle management of digital securities.

ChainCatcher news, the Bank of England (BoE) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have launched a Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), allowing companies to explore how to use Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for the notarization, maintenance, and settlement of financial securities.The FCA recognizes that developing technology has the potential to bring efficiency, transparency, and resilience to the market. The regulator stated that if these technologies are successfully implemented, they could make processes cheaper and faster, thereby "saving costs between the market and users." It emphasized that the DSS will facilitate the trading, settlement, and issuance of digital securities in the UK. This will be done on programmable and distributed ledgers while complying with the regulations of the Bank of England and the FCA.The FCA added that this initiative will strengthen the UK's position as a global financial center, creating the right conditions for investment and sustainable growth.

ChainCatcher news, according to Ledger Insight, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's Japanese joint venture Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities (MUFG MSS) plans to issue digital securities this year. Currently, real estate-backed security tokens account for about 80% of the Japanese market, while Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities focuses on digital bonds.In the future, the company hopes to leverage Morgan Stanley's overseas network to sell Japanese digital bonds to foreign investors. MUFG also owns 49% of Progmat, which is one of the two main licensed blockchain networks in Japan for issuing digital securities.

ChainCatcher news, according to Forbes reporter Eleanor Terrett on X, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce announced a proposal for a joint "digital securities sandbox" between the US and the UK, where companies from both jurisdictions can establish a safe harbor. This allows for the secure experimentation of using blockchain technology for securities trading without the fear of regulatory warnings. In her letter, she proposed inviting the US to participate in the "sandbox," which was initially proposed for UK companies by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority.Peirce's proposal would enable the US Securities and Exchange Commission to establish a "micro-innovation sandbox," allowing US companies to:Use blockchain technology to conduct limited business in the US for trading securities without the fear of being targeted by regulators.The duration in the sandbox would be up to 2 years, with the possibility of extension.FinHub will assist companies in understanding and navigating the sandbox. Companies can choose some of their own regulatory rules but must adhere to certain government guidelines to protect investors.If the time in the sandbox is successful, companies may be able to graduate and continue their activities under special permission from regulators.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Bank of England (BoE) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will take a "proactive" and flexible regulatory approach through the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS).Bank of England Executive Director Sashi Mills stated, "This will enable regulators to adopt new methods to maximize the potential benefits of innovation while managing financial stability risks. Through DLT, the DSS aims to alleviate inefficiencies in the 'post-trade environment,' which can lower the entry barriers for providers while enhancing the resilience of financial markets."

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the Bank of England has set autumn 2024 as the earliest time for the first applications to enter the digital securities sandbox.

ChainCatcher news, according to Coingeek, the Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX) based in Japan has launched a digital securities platform called START, which is a proprietary security token trading system (PTS).It is reported that the platform officially went live just one month after receiving PTS operational approval from the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan. Prior to the launch, initial reports indicated that the platform would debut two types of digital securities.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the UK Treasury has launched a new "Digital Securities Sandbox" (DSS) under the Financial Services and Markets Act, which will come into effect on January 8, 2024. It provides a firewall-protected financial laboratory to examine whether emerging technologies like blockchain can be used in the broader financial sector.The new DSS regulations will allow eligible financial market entities to participate as "sandbox participants," enabling them to conduct approved activities using developed technologies under modified regulatory requirements during a five-year trial period.

ChainCatcher news, cryptocurrency custody and trading company Copper announced on Wednesday that it is working with the Abu Dhabi Global Market Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to launch digital securities brokerage services in Abu Dhabi early next year.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, SOMA Finance plans to offer compliant digital securities to retail investors globally and in the U.S. later this month.It is reported that the security is actually the SOMA token, which represents preferred shares of the multi-asset DEX and digital asset issuance platform SOMA.finance, and token holders will have the right to receive dividends.

ChainCatcher message indicates that according to a document released by the UK Treasury, the UK will exclude "unsecured" cryptocurrencies from the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) program. The main goal of the DSS program is to create a more flexible regulatory environment for digital securities, including native digital securities and tokenized representations of existing securities.It will exclude "unsecured" crypto assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, which the Treasury collectively refers to as asset types closely related to the development of new technologies such as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), and this asset type also includes exchange tokens. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, Japan's largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), has completed a cross-blockchain trial using stablecoins to settle digital securities.The trial delivered a delivery versus payment (DvP) transaction using stablecoins issued on a program coin infrastructure based on the R3 Corda enterprise blockchain, with securities paid on a GoQuorum-permissioned blockchain. DataChain is an interoperability technology provider that utilized the Cosmos interoperability protocol IBC along with additional modules from DataChain's open-source project. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, the Salvadoran Congress has announced the passage of a digital securities law that allows the country to raise funds through the world's first sovereign blockchain bond. The Congress passed the bill with a vote of 62 to 16, which will then be sent to President Nayib Bukele for signing. The bill creates a legal framework that will support Bukele's sale of Bitcoin bonds, aimed at raising $500 million to build a tax-free coastal town called Bitcoin City, which will utilize geothermal energy from nearby volcanoes to mine digital currency.According to the government's proposal, an additional $500 million will be specifically used to purchase Bitcoin, and any appreciation of the digital currency will ultimately be shared with bondholders. Under the government's initial proposal, these tokenized bonds will be denominated in U.S. dollars, with an annual interest rate of 6.5% for a period of 10 years. The plan has faced criticism from credit rating agencies and the International Monetary Fund.Previously, the Salvadoran government had promised to sell Bitcoin bonds in the first quarter of 2021, but the issuance was delayed multiple times due to the drop in Bitcoin prices. According to Bukele's tweet, by June 2021, the Salvadoran government had purchased 2,381 Bitcoins. On November 16 of the same year, he stated that the government would buy one Bitcoin every day. (Bloomberg)

ChainCatcher news, the blockchain digital securities platform DEFYCA announced the completion of a $1.3 million seed round financing, led by QBN Capital and Blizzard Fund.The blockchain protocol developed by DEFYCA, the DEFYCA Protocol, aims to help cryptocurrency investors invest in traditional debt securities through tokenized assets. These tokenized assets will be included in liquidity pools, with processes such as price discovery, settlement, and payment executed through smart contracts, thereby establishing a connection between DeFi and TradFi (traditional finance). (Source link)