France’s Lise Wins License to Launch Europe’s First Tokenized Stock Exchange

Paris-based Lise (Lightning Inventory Trade) has change into the primary firm in Europe licensed to function a totally tokenized inventory change, the corporate stated Thursday.

The change, which focuses on the SME IPO market in France, has obtained a DLT TSS license from the French monetary regulator, the ACPR, below the EU’s Distributed Ledger Know-how Pilot Regime, in keeping with a press launch.

The authorization, developed with enter from the Banque de France, ESMA, AMF and the European Central Financial institution, permits Lise to mix the roles of a Multilateral Buying and selling Facility (MTF) and a Central Securities Depository (CSD) inside one digital framework.

Lise counts CACEIS (a subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole Group), BNP Paribas and Bpifrance amongst its shareholders. The tokenization-friendly change focuses on French firms with a market capitalization of lower than €500 million ($582 million) and goals for not less than half of its issuers to be SMEs with a valuation of lower than €200 million.

“This license permits us to function the primary totally tokenized inventory change in Europe, offering a direct reply to real-world monetary challenges,” stated Mark Kepeneghian, CEO of Lise.

Lise plans to record its first SME and mid-cap IPOs in early 2026, specializing in sectors resembling vitality, infrastructure and protection.

For buyers, the mannequin might make publicity to Europe’s smaller development firms simpler and extra clear. For policymakers, it represents a check case in utilizing blockchain expertise to simplify and modernize capital markets.