Jumpstart Joins MERJ to Offer US Investors Regulated Exposure to Tokenized Securities

The Seychelles exchange's collaboration with Jumpstart and Prime Trust enables U.S. accredited investors to participate in the upcoming MERJ offering

News provided by

Jumpstart Securities

Sep 04, 2019, 15:43 ET

EDEN ISLAND, Seychelles, Sept. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MERJ, the official stock exchange of the Republic of Seychelles, teams up with U.S. broker-dealer Jumpstart and custodian Prime Trust to open its doors to American accredited investors seeking to take part in its equity offering. The move marks the first time in history that investors are able to invest in digital securities on a fully regulated national stock exchange.

MERJ's tokenized security will be publicly listed on a fully regulated national stock exchange and denominated in U.S. dollars, offering investors a secure and familiar way to gain exposure to the digital asset industry.

Just last month, MERJ announced the first-ever listing of a tokenized security on any national exchange worldwide, bridging traditional financial markets with distributed ledger technology (DLT). In doing so, MERJ has taken a decisive first step in providing fully compliant market infrastructure for the digital era. Investors from all over the world will soon be able to invest in MERJ's public offering and future digital listings.

It's an interesting time for financial markets, and tokenized assets are front and center. Tokenization is the process of converting rights – or a unit of asset ownership – into a digital token on a blockchain. It can be applied to financial instruments such as equities and bonds, tangible assets such as real estate, fine art or rare cars, and even copyrights attached to intellectual property, authorship, or music. For ordinary investors this provides access to opportunities that were previously hard to come by. The only barrier has been the lack of a regulated infrastructure on which tokenized assets could be traded. MERJ provides that infrastructure.

"There is growing appetite from around the globe for these exciting investment opportunities," said Edmond Tuohy, CEO of MERJ Exchange. "An entire ecosystem is growing at a rapid pace to service the demand for digital assets. The missing puzzle piece has been a secondary market place that has the right regulatory structure in place, and MERJ is here to fill the void."

"We see continued demand from institutional investors for tokenized securities and a growing interest from retail investors," said Jonathan Self, CEO of Jumpstart Securities. "MERJ brings the best practices of a regulated market place to this space which could mark the beginning of real mainstream participation. We are delighted to be able to bring this groundbreaking investment opportunity to the US market."

The Seychelles exchange developed as a result of the IMF and World Bank working with the islands' government to build a financial services sector while coordinating with agencies like the OECD and FATF to ensure compliance with the highest international standards. An affiliate member of the World Federation of Exchanges, MERJ is licensed by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority, which is an associate member of IOSCO. The Seychelles is a member of the Commonwealth and the only country in Africa classified as high-income by the World Bank.

MERJ is a global platform with listings from North American, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. It is pioneering a direct-access model that enables investors to access the exchange directly via web or mobile app, as well as institutional customers through more traditional broker and member channels. By combining this model with the far-reaching effects of distributed ledger technology, MERJ hopes to have a significant democratizing effect on global capital markets.

About MERJ: MERJ EXCHANGE Limited, formerly Trop-X Limited, was incorporated in the Republic of Seychelles in 2011. The exchange went live in 2013 and upgraded from a correspondent member to an affiliate member of the World Federation of Exchanges in 2016. As an end-to-end Regulated Market MERJ has established and administers rules for the listing, trading, clearing, and settlement of securities.

About Jumpstart: Formerly FundAmerica Securities, LLC, Jumpstart Securities is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and is a member of FINRA. Jumpstart Securities is a consultancy, adviser, and investment banker that distributes securities from issuers' with great potential in an efficient online offering environment and provides investors with a simple process in which to make capital investments. Jumpstart Securities is not affiliated with other entities mentioned herein. For more information on Jumpstart Securities, visit www.jumpstartsecurities.com. Media Contact: Jonathan Self, 888-867-8552, [email protected]

About Prime Trust: Prime Trust is a technology-driven financial institution that provides financial infrastructure solutions for the digital economy. It powers exchanges, OTC desks, portals, platforms, brokers, investment advisors, stablecoins, and others with smart API solutions to create world-class financial services at scale. As a qualified custodian, Prime Trust provides FIAT and token custody, funds processing, AML and KYC compliance, and transaction technology.

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