MERJ, the first tokenised IPO of the Seychelles National Stock Exchange

Today the Seychelles National Stock Exchange launched the MERJ IPO, most likely the world’s first tokenised Initial Public Offering. 

According to the IPO prospectus, MERJ Exchange Limited is a company based in the Republic of Seychelles. In 2012 it was licensed to operate in the country as the ‘Seychelles Securities Exchange‘, the National Stock Exchange where securities can be traded. 

Formerly known as Trop-X (Seychelles) Limited, MERJ is authorised by the state to manage the equity, debt, derivatives, Forex, and digital asset markets. 

As a regulated market operator, MERJ performs a similar function in Seychelles to that of, for example, the New York Stock Exchange in the United States, or the London Stock Exchange in the UK.

The name change took place in 2019, to highlight the merger between the old system of traditional stock exchanges and the new system of digital assets. 

In fact, the IT platform it uses is now based on the Ethereum blockchain, and on August 7th, MERJ became the first regulated market in the world to list a tokenised stock. 

The IPO launched today is probably the first in the world to be based on blockchain. As a result, 1.653 million tokenised ordinary shares of MERJ Exchange Limited were issued and offered for sale at an initial price of $2.42. 

The tokenised shares were issued on the public Ethereum blockchain, and it appears to be the first time that a recognised stock exchange authorised to operate in this way has placed tokenised shares on the market. 

Edmond Tuohy, CEO of MERJ Exchange, said:

“These novel financial instruments are here to reshape the financial industry for years to come. MERJ provides the regulatory framework necessary for investors globally to access these markets in a safe and compliant manner”.

MERJ’s IPO aims to raise $4 million to fund its expansion. The price of $2.42 per share gives the company a total value of $25 million.