First non-crypto company issues 'pre-IPO' equity tokens on European Digital Assets Exchange
Quick Take
- HCS Pharma announced plans to sell security tokens on the European Digital Assets Exchange on Thursday.
- This is the first example of a non-crypto company offering ‘pre-IPO’ tokens to investors.
HCS Pharma became the first non-crypto company to offer "pre-IPO" tokens to investors on Thursday as the company launched a security sale on the European Digital Assets Exchange (EDSX).
The French biotech is raising funds before joining the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in a traditional initial public offering (IPO) later this year, according to a statement from EDSX.
Ahead of that IPO, the company is selling crypto tokens representing a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE). These tokens give holders the right to receive a 20% discount on the listing price of the IPO proper.
Over 2 million tokens have been sold so far, with a total value of €2.1 million ($2.2 million), according to the EDSX website. That's almost 30% of its €7 million target.
EDSX is based in Zug in Switzerland and was founded in 2019. It's one of the first security token exchanges and this month it completed the compliance procedure to provide a secondary market for security tokens in Switzerland, which is set to open in the third quarter of 2022.
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