Templum, 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.”
