Lightning Stock Exchange (Lise), a French blockchain-based stock exchange, is preparing to conduct what it describes as the first natively tokenized initial public offering, listing aerospace and defense small and medium enterprise ST Group as its debut company. The exchange says shares will be issued and traded as digital tokens rather than recorded through conventional market infrastructure. The announcement was shared with Cointelegraph on Thursday.
Lise CEO Mark Kepeneghian said the development could fundamentally change how markets are built, how companies raise capital, and how investors connect to the real economy. The IPO is scheduled for April 9 and is being structured with support from Allinvest Group, which is acting as both financial adviser and bookrunner. The platform introduces a first-come, first-served allocation model for IPO orders and removes subscription and custody fees.
The listing will serve as a practical test of whether tokenized issuance can address real capital market challenges for smaller companies, rather than simply demonstrate blockchain-based infrastructure. Tokenized securities have historically faced difficulties around liquidity, investor access, and regulatory friction. It remains to be seen whether the new venue can attract meaningful trading activity or operate smoothly at scale.
Lise holds multiple regulatory approvals, including an investment firm license from the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority and a DLT Pilot Regime authorization from the European Securities and Markets Authority. These approvals allow the exchange to run both trading and settlement on blockchain infrastructure, according to a company spokesperson. The European Commission has previously proposed extending the DLT Pilot Regime as part of broader efforts to support tokenized financial markets across Europe.
The platform operates both a Multilateral Trading Facility and a Central Securities Depository within a single unified system, built natively on Hyperledger Besu, a private and permissioned blockchain. Shares issued on Lise are created directly as security tokens on the distributed ledger. The spokesperson noted that the distributed ledger serves as the authoritative source for the securities registry.
Broader investor demand for tokenized equities is growing, with total market value approaching the $1 billion threshold. According to data from RWA.xyz, tokenized equities reached approximately $941 million in total value, representing a 2.4% increase over the past 30 days. Monthly transfer volume rose 85% to $2.94 billion during the same period, while the number of holders climbed 17% to more than 201,000.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
