Assetera, Europe’s first blockchain-based regulated secondary market for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), will be hosted by Polygon Network.
The Austrian Financial Market Authority regulates Assetera. It will implement blockchain-based smart contracts that have been internally developed.
Assetera will cater to retail, professional, and institutional clients by providing tokenized financial instruments, including transferable securities, money market instruments, fund units, derivatives, and tokenized RWAs like real estate and art.
Assetera will conduct trading activities on the Polygon network directly, utilizing stablecoins for purchase, clearing, and settlement through atomic exchanges.
Trading will be accessible at all times without the need for manual intervention. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Thomas Labenbacher, CEO of Assetera, stated:
“This opens up a world of possibilities for asset owners and investors, so that there is a level of liquidity and accessibility previously unimaginable. The […] Polygon Proof-of-Stake mechanism ensure[s] that we can scale this revolutionary platform sustainably […] without compromising on security or regulatory compliance.”
Assetera endorses the implementation of bank-managed wallets and both custodial and non-custodial wallets. It collaborates with Sumsub, Chainalysis, and Fireblocks to implement anti-money laundering measures.
Regulatory change in the context of compliance
Assetera possesses a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license and a comprehensive Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2018 (MiFID II) license.
Financial instruments that are digital assets are subject to regulation under MiFID II, despite the implementation of Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation.
MiFID II does not establish the definition of a financial instrument. Instead, it offers examples, leaving the specifics to the discretion of individual countries.
In April, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a consultative document regarding the definition of a financial instrument.
In July, the European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and ESMA collaborated to reevaluate the classification of crypto assets.
In advance of other components of the regulatory framework, the provisions of the MiCA concerning stablecoins were applicable on July 1.
This resulted in an immediate restructuring of the market, with the prohibition of noncompliant stablecoin sales in Europe and the emergence of new compliant stablecoins.
