October 4th, 2017 at 2:57 pm UTC · 3 min read
Templum, LLC, and its affiliated broker dealer Liquid M Capital, LLC, announced today a strategic partnership to launch a digital asset platform, known as Templum, offering both primary issuance of Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”) and the secondary trading of both registered and unregistered digital assets as securities through an Alternative Trading System (“ATS”).
Templum’s strategic partnership with Liquid M Capital will allow it to utilize Liquid M Capital to create a turn-key solution for the initial issuance and secondary trading of ICOs as unregistered private securities. Templum’s proprietary technology and intellectual property combined with Liquid M Capital’s ATS will provide ICO investors with the first of its kind platform for the sale and secondary trading of digital tokens.
ICOs are increasingly popular as an efficient and innovative way of raising capital. ICOs have raised approximately $2.2 billion to date in 2017, compared to $100 million for all of 2016, according to CoinSchedule.com. While experiencing tremendous growth, the ICO market has operated independently of jurisdictional securities laws. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released an investigative report on July 25, 2017, regarding DAO tokens that concluded that their sale and trading was in violation of U.S. securities laws. The SEC further concluded that offers and sales of digital assets by “virtual” organizations in the U.S. are subject to the requirements of the federal securities laws.
“Templum’s model is designed to build upon ICO innovation by adhering to existing regulations to add the essential element of investor protection,” said Chris Pallotta, founder and chief executive officer, Templum. “By doing so, we hope to increase widespread acceptance of ICOs that will attract more capital interest in innovative, growth-oriented companies and result in the overall growth of the global digital asset market. We believe that once our platform is fully established it will become the primary destination for transacting in digital assets worldwide.”
“We’ve long advocated for a strong digital asset ecosystem for both issuers and investors, and sought to preserve the best elements of the ICO community,” said Vince Molinari, chief executive officer, Liquid M Capital. “With the DAO report, we can reasonably conclude that most digital assets are likely to be treated as securities by U.S. regulators. Templum will meet the need for compliant ICOs and secondary trading liquidity in a single destination.”
About Templum, LLC
Templum, LLC operates at the intersection of blockchain and digital assets in a manner that facilitates transparent access to capital with a focus on investor protection. Our principals have extensive experience in the blockchain space helping shape the innovative technology into a viable, scalable industry. By leveraging this expertise, Templum intends to bring new technological advances to the capital markets, specifically through ICOs, with the aim to open new sources of capital for innovative, growth companies and provide those capital sources with enhanced investor protections and secondary liquidity opportunities in a fully regulated environment.
About Liquid M Capital
Liquid M Capital, LLC, is a financial technology company and broker dealer registered with the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Liquid M Capital is the operator of an alternative trading system (“ATS”) that intends to use Blockchain technology as part of the operation of its ATS. Liquid M Capital also operates a Quotation Bureau, which permits the publishing of real-time quotations of private unregistered securities. Liquid Markets Group’s (the parent of Liquid M Capital) has been an advocate for the effective regulation of digital assets and filed a petition for rulemaking with the SEC in late 2017 to issue a concept release and to propose rules for the regulation of digital assets.