SBI Moves Into Security Tokens as Secondary Markets Pump

Major Japanese financial services company SBI Holdings now owns a 10% stake in the digital security offering platform Boostry.

The news follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Nomura Research Institute — a joint venture of Boostry’s majority-owner Nomura Holdings — and SBI. 54% of the platform is owned by Nomura Holdings, Nomura Institute holds a 34% stake, and SBI has 10%.

The memorandum also establishes that the three entities will form a strategic alliance concerning the operation of Boostry.

tZERO dominates security token volume

The agreement between Nomura and SBI comes as the security token sector has shown consistent growth, with monthly secondary trading volume exceeding $2 million for the first time in June.

Despite the sector’s momentum, Overstock’s tZERO alternative trading system is estimated to host 95% of secondary security token trade. Overstock’s digital security OSTKO represents approximately 80% of secondary volume, with tZERO’s native token TZROP comprising 15% of the monthly total.

The platform announced yesterday that it will soon support a third token in ASPEN, the digital security representing fractionalized ownership in a five-star 179-room resort located in Colorado. 

Digital securities platforms proliferate

Rivals are quickly moving to enter the space, with Watchdog Capital announcing a new U.S.-based securities offering platform on July 23. 

Watchdog is a registered broker-dealer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and facilitates exempt securities offerings.

In May, Rialto Markets also received approval from the U.S Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to launch an alternative trading system for digital securities.