The Lightning Stock Exchange (Lise), a new securities exchange headquartered in France, is entering the market with ambitious goals, planning to launch a fully tokenized stock exchange specifically serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The company announced on Thursday that the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) has granted Lise a Distributed Ledger Technology Trading and Settlement (TSS) license, paving the way for its launch of a tokenized stock exchange in Europe.
"This approval authorizes us to operate Europe’s first tokenized securities exchange dedicated to stock trading," said Mark Kepeneghian, Managing Director of Lise, in a statement on LinkedIn.
Supported by major French banks such as BNP Paribas and Bpifrance, Lise is a subsidiary of Kriptown, which positions itself as a "new exchange for startups and SMEs focused on digital assets."
The DLT TSS license is an authorization under the EU DLT pilot regime, which is a set of regulations for market infrastructure using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
The DLT pilot regime came into effect in March 2023, providing a legal framework for the trading and settlement of crypto assets that qualify as financial instruments under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).
The company stated that the DLT TSS license enables Lise to create next-generation market infrastructure that "combines market and post-trade functions within a single infrastructure." It specifically mentioned the combination of Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTF) and Central Securities Depositories (CSD), adding that this marks a "profound shift in the way financial markets operate."
The news of Lise obtaining the DLT TSS license comes months after the company emerged from stealth mode in April 2025, with a mission to "fundamentally rethink" the concept of an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
"Lise is developing a unique market infrastructure driven by asset tokenization," the company stated at the time, emphasizing that this approach ensures a high level of security while reducing costs associated with IPOs and public listings.
"The first tokenized IPOs are expected to take place in early 2026, by which time issuer onboarding and final operational readiness testing will be completed," Kepeneghian told Cointelegraph.
He indicated that Lise plans to launch its first tokenized IPO in the first quarter of 2026, which will serve as a proof of concept for the model, with the company expecting to tokenize 10 more IPOs by 2027.
Several major European banks have bet on Lise's tokenization efforts in IPOs.
The asset servicing bank group Caceis of French banking giant Crédit Agricole acquired a minority stake in Kriptown in August to support Lise's launch.
"With this move, Caceis reaffirms its commitment to driving transformation in the financial industry and fostering a digital ecosystem that promotes innovation," the company stated, adding:
Lise's tokenization efforts in Europe mark a milestone in the growing trend of tokenized securities, as major cryptocurrency exchanges like Gemini and Kraken launched tokenized securities products for EU clients earlier this year.
Related: Australian financial regulators may gain power to ban cryptocurrency ATMs
Original article: “French Lightning Stock Exchange Receives Regulatory Approval, Plans to Launch Europe’s First Tokenized IPO in 2026”
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