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Securitize Markets Unlocks Broader Access to Alternative Investments, Including Secondary Market Trading

New Marketplace Completes Securitize’s End-to-End Platform to Ease the Investing and Trading of Alternative Assets, with a Goal to Increase Overall Liquidity of the Private Markets

Sep 28, 2021

San Francisco, CA —

Securitize, Inc. has announced the launch of a fundamentally better way for investors to access the private capital markets. Largely inaccessible behind highly-fragmented websites and antiquated paper processes, alternative assets in the private markets have remained stubbornly illiquid and closed off to most investors. Open today, Securitize Markets provides investors access to invest in and trade a broad range of alternative assets, including private company equity, real estate and funds, within a single regulated digital marketplace.

All investments on Securitize Markets are tokenized as Digital Asset Securities (also commonly referred to as “security tokens”), which bring a host of benefits over traditional paper securities, including virtually instantaneous settlement minimizing counterparty risk, greater efficiency with fewer intermediaries, and the opportunity for fractional ownership.

At least nine offerings are anticipated to be available for secondary trading when, or soon after, the platform launches.

"Securitize Markets is the final critical component in creating the world’s largest, fully digital, end-to-end, regulatory compliant solution for raising and trading private capital."

— Carlos Domingo, Securitize Founder and CEO

The new marketplace completes Securitize’s end-to-end solution enabling established private businesses to raise capital, manage shareholders, and provide the potential for liquidity through secondary trading.

The demand for such a marketplace is clear: the private capital markets are growing at more than twice the pace of the traditional public markets, with $11 trillion invested in alternative assets at the end of 2020--a figure expected to nearly double by 2025. Yet private market trading activity is just 1/300th that of the traditional public markets, a result of a lack of modernization and infrastructure, a highly fragmented landscape, and myriad niche secondary market websites with high trading fees.

A primary reason the private markets are expanding: growing companies are staying private longer than before. Gone are the days of Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle, whose early IPOs were seen as opportunities for individual investors to share in unicorn-driven wealth. Today, most of a company’s value is generated long before an IPO, with IPOs increasingly recognized as exit opportunities for founders and early investors. In fact, by the time individual investors are able to participate, approximately 80% of IPOs actually lose value.

"Securitize allows businesses to fundraise directly from those already most invested in their success: their customers, fans and partners. And with Securitize Markets, their investors no longer have to be on a VIP list, or wait for a long-off IPO to trade, but can do so easily online."

— Scott Harrigan, CEO of Securitize Markets

“The focus on IPOs is misplaced. Today, wealth is generated by investing in early-stage companies, not mature ones. But most investors have been frozen out of these opportunities, until now. Securitize Markets is intended to give many more investors access to alternative investment opportunities, with an aim at increasing the liquidity of the private markets overall,” said Carlos Domingo, CEO of parent, Securitize, Inc. “Securitize Markets is the final critical component in creating the world’s largest, fully digital, end-to-end, regulatory compliant solution for raising and trading private capital. I am very proud of our team, which developed this vital platform in just eight months.”

“Executive teams at midsize and large start-ups spend an immense amount of time seeking capital from VC firms and banks, reducing their ability to focus on running and scaling their business,” said Scott Harrigan, CEO of Securitize Markets, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Securitize, Inc. and operates the alternative trading system. “Securitize allows businesses to fundraise directly from those already most invested in their success: their customers, fans and partners. And with Securitize Markets, their investors no longer have to be on a VIP list, or wait for a long-off IPO to trade, but can do so easily online.”

While the private markets have grown dramatically in recent years, the benefits have largely been enjoyed by a handful of founders, the wealthy, and institutions, with individual investors locked out.

The goal of Securitize Markets is to enable investors, whether individual or institutional, to participate in private capital market opportunities through a fully digital environment, without offline intermediaries, with the expectation that as the marketplace grows alternative assets will become more liquid than they have been in the past.

Securitize Markets was built following Securitize’s November 2020 acquisition of Distributed Technology Markets, with principal development complete by May 2021, and testing and regulatory approvals complete by August 2021.


ABOUT SECURITIZE

Securitize is a digital asset securities marketplace with a mission to provide investors with access to invest in and trade alternative investments, and for companies to raise capital and offer shareholder's liquidity. Securitize has pioneered a fully digital, regulatory compliant, end-to-end platform for issuing, managing and trading digital asset securities, with over 200 businesses and nearly 400,000 investors already connected, and nearly $500 million in current-value digital asset securities issued on the Securitize platform. Securitize is comprised of Securitize, Inc. and its subsidiaries Securitize, LLC (an SEC-registered transfer agent), Securitize Capital, LLC, and Securitize Markets, LLC (an SEC-registered broker-dealer, member of FINRA and SIPC, and operator of the company’s alternative trading system, Securitize Markets). Learn more at http://www.securitize.io.

Media Contacts

Evan Wagner, evan.wagner@securitize.io

Armel Leslie, aleslie@peaksstrategies.com

Disclaimer

Private market investments are speculative and considered risky, including potential loss of your investment, and may not be appropriate for every investor. Private investments are generally an illiquid asset class; investors cannot sell their funds when they want to without potentially facing high losses. Any discussion of liquidity is purely speculative.

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Securities are offered through Securitize Markets, LLC, (“Securitize Markets”) a registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC. Neither Securitize Markets, nor any of its affiliates provide any investment advice or make any investment recommendations to any persons, ever, and no communication through herein or in any other medium should be construed as such. Securities offered on the Securitize Markets ATS have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. Assets listed herein, such as digital assets or tokens using blockchain, are speculative, involve a high degree of risk, are generally illiquid, may have no value, have limited regulatory certainty, are subject to potential market manipulation risks and may expose investors to loss of principal. Investments in private placements, start-up investments in particular, are also speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Investors must be able to afford the loss of their entire investment. Eligibility to buy and sell securities on the Securitize Markets ATS is determined by Securitize Markets in its sole discretion. Offers to sell, or the solicitations of offers to buy any security can only be made through official offering documents that contain important information about risks, fees and expenses associated with the applicable securities available for trading on the Securitize Markets ATS. Investors should conduct their own due diligence, not rely on the financial assumptions or estimates displayed herein, and are encouraged to consult with a financial advisor, attorney, accountant, tax advisors, and any other professional that can help you to understand and assess the risks associated with any investment opportunity. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority has recommended or approved any investment or the accuracy or completeness of any of the information or materials provided herein or through any references/links herein. Any financial projections or returns shown herein are provided by the issuer of the relevant security and Securitize Markets has not verified the accuracy. Further, there can be no assurance that any valuations provided by issuers are accurate or in agreement with market or industry valuations. Securitize Markets and its affiliates make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy of such information. Securitize Markets may collect certain information about you that helps us comply with various securities regulations and rules and the USA PATRIOT Act, a Federal law that requires all securities firms to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each applicant. The information also helps us more fully understand your investment profile and identify what types of investments or strategies may be suitable for you. The term “Investors” used on this website, typically refers to accredited investors where applicable. Please note: if we cannot verify the information you provide, we may be required to restrict or deny your account. Trading during Extended Hours Trading Sessions carries unique risks, such as greater price volatility, lower liquidity, wider bid/ask spreads, and less market visibility, and may not be appropriate for all investors. There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns, outperform a non-diversified portfolio, or prevent against loss. By accessing this site and any pages thereof, you agree to be bound by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.