Securitize Launches Tokenized Spanish REIT Shares

Securitize, a company specializing in bringing traditional securities on-chain, has begun issuing tokenized shares in a Spanish real estate investment trust (REIT).

Announced on July 27, Securitize seeks to raise 150M EUR by issuing shares for the Mancipi S.A. real estate investment trust (REIT), which is focused on commercial real estate in the healthcare sector. Securitize plans start trading and settlement for the tokenized shares around September in compliance with the European Union’s Distributed Ledger Technology Pilot Regime.

"Investing in private market alternative assets can be one of the most powerful ways to generate wealth, but these opportunities have historically been inaccessible to most people,” said Carlos Domingo, Securitize co-founder and CEO. “This innovation giv[es] businesses a new way to raise capital."

An increasing number of prominent web3 projects are devoting resources to bringing real-world assets (RWAs) on-chain.

Earlier this week, Avalanche, an ecosystem of smart contract networks, launched a $50M fund to support tokenized asset issuers. The Avalanche Foundation will mobilize funds to purchase assets from select projects, expressing an interest in real estate, credit, equity, commodity, and web3 assets.

Last month, Bank of America published a report predicting that “traditional asset tokenization” could grow to comprise a $16T industry within 15 years.

Sandbox Approach

Securitize will operate within a “regulatory sandbox,” which allows novel businesses to carry out business that may not fit within the existing regulatory apparatus with close oversight from regulators.

The Spanish General Secretariat of the Treasury and International Finance (CNMV) will monitor Securitize’s activities within the sandbox.

Securitize said it expects to receive securities licenses in Spain and the European Union following the sandbox, adding it is the first company to issue tokenized securities in both Europe and the United States.

The company noted it already has a significant presence in Spain, with many of its staff residing in Spain and Banco Santander, a top 20 global financial firm residing in Spain, was an early investor in Securitize.