Bitcoin-based security token offering approved in Germany

The German financial supervisory authorities have approved a Security Token Offering (STO) based on a Bitcoin (BTC) sidechain.

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has given the go-ahead for the EXOeu token from the game publisher Exordium, which enables local private investors to qualify for a sale on Stokr, one of the most important digital markets in Europe.

German investors can invest in EXOeu through stokers with a minimum investment of 100 US dollars. EXOeu is the second STO ever to be approved for the German market on Stokr, after BaFin approved the STO of the ParkinGO parking network last year.

The EXOeu security token, which will be launched in January 2021, will raise funds for the development of the science fiction MMO game Infinite Fleet by Samson Mow. The offer is already available to investors in other European countries such as France, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal and has raised more than 7 million US dollars so far.

While many STOs are based on the Ethereum blockchain, EXOeu tokens are issued through Blockstream Amp, a securities tokenization platform based on Bitcoin’s liquid sidechain.

“Bitcoin is shaping payments and it is time to shape the capital markets – this can be done through second-tier technology,” said Stokr co-founder Arnab Naskar, adding that Ethereum is “losing its appeal” as an STO platform of the high gas fees and the uncertainty surrounding Ethereum 2.0.

Related: Bitfinex launches Managed Security Token Platform in Kazakhstan

According to Tobias Seidl, co-founder of Stokr, the approval of Exordium’s STO by BaFin marks a new milestone in cross-border blockchain-based STOs. “We see Bitcoin as the fundamental backbone of future capital markets that will be built on blockchains,” he said.

The news comes shortly after the major crypto exchange Bitfinex announced last week that it will be launching its own STO trading platform with Exordium (EXO) trading.