Section dedicated to the main digital finance news of July 2020, concerning the world of STOs, institutional progress and the decentralised finance revolution

July 23, 2020 - USA: OCC allows banks to offer crypto-related services

 

U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, has issued a letter explaining that banks may offer any type of cryptocurrency related service, such as the custody of associated keys, provided they comply with current laws. 

The news of the OCC, which is an independent office of the Treasury Department of the United States, already has governmental significance and, contrary to what is expected from the decentralized world of cryptocurrency, will give banks the opportunity to continue to perform their financial intermediation function.

 

A turning point for the traditional banking system that finally recognizes the cryptocurrency and tokens as financial instruments increasingly used, but that remains in strong contradiction on the concept of peer-to-peer and disintermediation of which crypto are pioneers. 

 

July 15, 2020 - Big Four Firms will enter in DeFi world in 10 years

According to the latest dGen report, by 2030 the world of decentralized finance or DeFi will see a series of long-term bullish developments thanks to the entry of the Big Four into the ecosystem.

Researchers claim that DeFi is still in its early stages but that it already is one of the hottest topics in the blockchain industry today. That's exactly why, giants like KPMG, EY, Deloitte and PwC will become an important part of DeFi in the next ten years. 

 

July 13, 2020 - Vogemann Raises Investment Capital with Its First STO

The Vogemann shipping company based in Hamburg, Germany, launched its first STO to raise investment capital for a total issued volume of $50 million (USD).

In essence, the Vogemann's goal is to create a new, more environmentally friendly model to reduce CO2 emissions into the air and make the transport sector greener.

His future-oriented plan is perfectly aligned with the use of the STO for his fundraising and for which the issued digital asset has been nicknamed Green Ship Token. 

According to reports, Vogemann's Green Ship tokens are digital securities issued on the Ethereum blockchain, in the form of tokenized profit participation rights, with a fixed annual return. The capital raised is invested in new or modern used bulkers used in the company's operations.

 

July 24, 2020 - SBI Holding has moved into the world of security tokens

The Japanese financial giant SBI Holding has moved into the world of security tokens, acquiring a 10% stake in Nomura Boostry's STO platform. 

A not entirely occasional choice, if one considers the constant growth of the security token exchanges in the secondary markets. A market that registered a volume of more than 2 million dollars for the first time in June.  

  

July 14, 2020 - Rotterdam School of Management: "STOs are better than ICOs"

Researchers at the School of Management in Rotterdam also argue that STOs are better for financing start-ups than ICOs.

Specifically, they are Thomas Lambert, Daniel Liebau and Peter Roosenboom who describe the situation as follows:

“Tokens issued in a STO are investment products which usually confer cash flow rights to investors and, in some cases, also voting rights. A STO is thus specifically designed to finance startups, whereas an ICO aims at funding an organization but does not include its financing.”

According to the researchers, STOs can be issued either at the beginning of a company's life as equity tokens or later as fund tokens. The researchers also found that corporate governance is another success factor.