Despite some of the first security token offerings (STO) having launche at least four years ago, the STO industry is still yet to take off, according to an executive at the INX cryptocurrency trading platform.
The STO industry is still nascent compared to the overall digital asset industry as companies and individuals are just getting into the field, INX’s chief business officer Douglas Borthwick said in an interview with Cointelegraph.
According to Borthwick, there is still a huge educational gap between those who are aware of STOs and those who have never heard of the term.
Also known as a tokenized initial public offering (IPO), an STO is a type of public offering involving sales of tokenized digital securities, or security tokens, on security token exchanges. Security tokens can be used to trade real financial assets such as equities, fixed income or real estate and use blockchain to store and validate token transactions.
INX became the first company to hold a tokenized IPO approved by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), raising $85 million in 2021. The platform has since listed five private security tokens like the Blockchain Capital Token (BCA) and one public token, the INX token (INX).
“We believe the game has yet to begin, as players only now are going onto the field,” Borthwick said, noting more offerings are required to increase the functionality of STOs.
“As more and more companies become STOs through a public offering, attracting tens of thousands of investors, then we will begin to see much more progress,” he stated.
In the meantime, INX is focused on solving up-to-date issues around the STO industry such as lack of awareness and education. The firm is specifically working with financial professionals, educating them on the STO process and the efficiencies, which — according to INX — will lead to more issuers. “It hasn’t taken off yet, but it certainly feels like it is poised to,” the Borthwick said,…
