Global investment platform, TokenMarket today announces plans to raise up to £10m via a Security Token Offering (STO). The offering, which is open to professional and self-certified investors, marks the first of its kind where the shares issued are represented as blockchain-based digital tokens. The crowdfunding campaign is expected to take place within the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Regulatory Sandbox.

Over the last two years, TokenMarket has established itself as an industry veteran having assisted some of the most innovative blockchain companies in raising more than £240 million.

Ransu Salovaara, TokenMarket CEO and Co-Founder, commented. “There is a huge unmet demand for growth finance, particularly amongst tech startups. Europe has markedly failed to match the prowess of the US in nurturing technology champions that drive innovation, economic growth and job creation.

“At the same time, everyday investors are often shut off from exciting investment opportunities. We firmly believe that STOs will help to solve this dilemma by democratising access to finance whilst providing the same investor protections as traditional securities.

“As a platform we work with many exciting businesses, and we are delighted to launch our own STO, demonstrating our commitment to this revolutionary financing model.”

With £9m in revenue in its last financial year, the company has been completely self-funded up until this point. TokenMarket plans to use the additional funding to fully capitalise on the expected £77 billion-a-year market for startup and growth company financing.

Mikko Ohtamaa, TokenMarket CTO and Co-Founder, added “Over the past 12 months, our team has been working on tokenised securities. We have designed and built an open-source platform that focuses on market transparency and security. We believe we have constructed a fully compliant yet non-custodial, blockchain-based platform that helps early-stage companies raise funding while potentially giving investors earlier liquidity.”

The TokenMarket platform, currently delivering fundraising and token issuance, is set to expand with the inclusion of its own security token exchanges in the EU and Dubai. This end-to-end approach aims to provide professional and self-certified investors with seamless access to primary and secondary markets.

The TokenMarket STO launches in two stages; a private placement for professional investors which is now open, and a tokenised equity crowdfunding campaign for self-certified investors which is expected to take place in March 2019.