Last Updated on December 4, 2020 by Talium
In this article, we propose to you a translation of an interview of Julien Brodier, published on Forbes in October 2020.
Offered in SaaS mode, the solution, which is based on blockchain technology, considerably reduces transfer and settlement times by ensuring the transferability of digitized securities. Explanations from Julien Brodier, co-founder of Talium.
What is the degree of maturity of the market for the tokenization of financial assets?
Clearly, even if asset tokenization is working very well today and brings real benefits, we are only at the beginning. The market, enabled by blockchain technology, is far from mature both technologically and in terms of regulation. On this second point, however, it should be noted that France is not too badly placed, as are Luxembourg, Switzerland and Germany. From a market point of view, some banks are interested and are starting to launch their solutions, as are some start-ups, but there are still few of them in Europe.
What are the advantages of tokenization?
It depends on the profile of the users, who can be either issuer of financial securities, financial intermediaries or investors. Today, when you buy shares from a bank broker, the securities are stored in their database, in a “siloed” system, with the necessary financial infrastructure for settlement. With the blockchain, the securities exist as tokens and are transferable from one platform to another. This is the goal of tokenization. This gives the investor full sovereignty over his assets. He can delegate the safekeeping of these assets to a third party, but he is also able to keep them himself or to sell them directly (transferability, which implies the existence of liquidity and improves the risk ratio), without going through a broker or an organized market, in plain language, without an intermediary. The investor can also partially sell a share (principle of asset fragmentation), which is impossible if one goes through traditional mechanisms. The tokenization of assets will undoubtedly make it possible, for example, to stimulate investment in unlisted securities.
What about the issuer of financial securities?
One of the advantages they will derive from this is the speed with which they can issue tokens, at controlled costs, i.e., ten to a hundred times less than a stock market listing. Our platform not only enables tokenization but also, upstream, the creation of public or private token offerings with all the processes required for such operations: calls to investors, compliance with various regulations (MiFID II, AMLD5, RG AMF), contracts and pacts, all of which are carried out in an automated manner, thanks to workflows combining regtech and fintech. As a result, transfer and settlement times are reduced to just a few minutes, compared to two to three days (or even 10 days in some cases) in traditional markets.
Who do you actually offer your platform to?
We are primarily targeting financial intermediaries who will be able to use it as a white label. We can also address issuers who want to digitize the management of their securities or launch fund-raising operations. In addition to the tokenization platform, your company is also developing a blockchain integrator activity. We have been a technology integrator since 2012 for major accounts and specialized in the blockchain field since 2015. We have followed about twenty projects in the fields of energy, industry, media and especially finance: crypto-actives portfolios, trading systems, tokenization, oracles, decentralized applications, token sales portals, CADs (decentralized organizations) and token economy.
Our solutions can be delivered to each of our customers in a personalized way according to their needs.
Find Julien Brodier’s interview on Forbes (in French)
