France has officially approved the Lightning Stock Exchange (Lise) to operate what could become Europe’s first fully tokenised equity market for small and medium-sized businesses, marking a major experiment in how public markets might evolve on blockchain.
Backed by BNP Paribas, Bpifrance, and Crédit Agricole’s Caceis, the Paris-based platform has received a DLT Trading and Settlement (TSS) licence from France’s banking watchdog, the ACPR, under the European Union’s DLT Pilot Regime.
The authorisation allows Lise to merge trading and settlement into a single blockchain-based system – removing the traditional separation between exchanges and central securities depositories (CSDs).
Managing director Mark Kepeneghian described the move as “a true breakthrough for capital markets, and a decisive milestone for Lise,” adding that it aims to “open capital markets to SMEs and midcaps, and channel private savings into productive European businesses.”
Under the EU’s 2023 DLT Pilot Regime, regulators can grant exemptions to test distributed ledger technology in financial markets.
Lise’s new licence makes it the first French market infrastructure authorised to act simultaneously as a multilateral trading facility (MTF) and central securities depository (CSD).
This dual capability allows the platform to execute and settle trades instantly within a unified system, eliminating counterparty risks and reducing settlement delays.
Lise says its blockchain model supports real-time, 24/7 trading and aims to simplify how corporate actions—such as shareholder voting, dividends, and registry updates—are managed.
By integrating all post-trade operations directly into the exchange infrastructure, Lise effectively redefines the mechanics of public markets.
The approach is expected to reduce costs and bureaucracy for issuers while making securities ownership more transparent for investors.
Rather than relying on conventional initial public offerings (IPOs), Lise will issue and trade company shares as tokenised equities, offering a faster, cheaper route to public financing.
The first listings are expected in early 2026, followed by at least ten more digital IPOs in 2027.
The company’s parent, Kriptown, already operates as a “neo-exchange” for startups and SMEs, giving Lise a foundation of experience in digital financing.
Kepeneghian said the company’s vision is to make the process of raising capital for smaller firms as fast and transparent as transferring digital assets, using blockchain to simplify and modernise access to market financing.
Lise’s system will cater primarily to companies valued below €500 million, particularly those under €200 million, providing them access to capital markets that have long favoured larger issuers.
For investors, tokenised shares promise faster settlement, programmable compliance, and improved liquidity.
Lise’s creation has been closely aligned with France’s regulatory and institutional ecosystem.
The approval process involved the Banque de France, ESMA, AMF, and the European Central Bank, reflecting high-level collaboration between public and private sectors.
Caceis, the asset-servicing arm of Crédit Agricole, recently acquired a minority stake in Kriptown to back the project.
The bank said the move aligns with its long-term strategy to drive digital transformation in market infrastructure.
BNP Paribas and Bpifrance are also investors, signalling growing confidence among established institutions in tokenised securities.
Lise’s competitors, Germany’s 21X and Lithuania’s Axiology, are pursuing their own DLT TSS strategies, focused respectively on tokenised money market funds and bond trading.
However, Lise remains the only one specialising in equity tokenisation for SMEs, positioning France as a frontrunner in Europe’s tokenised market race.
Source: The European Securities and Markets Authority
Lise’s model is seen as a potential blueprint for the future of digital exchanges in Europe.
It combines the transparency and regulatory oversight of traditional markets with the efficiency and automation of blockchain technology.
By merging trading and settlement functions, Lise could significantly reduce the cost of capital and improve market access for smaller firms.
For regulators and central banks, the platform offers a live test of blockchain’s ability to enhance efficiency without compromising investor protection.
As Europe’s financial hubs compete to modernise, Lise’s launch may also help anchor Paris as a centre of blockchain-based finance, attracting startups and institutional investors seeking a regulated environment for tokenised assets.
Lise’s approval signals more than just a regulatory milestone.
It challenges Europe’s decades-old exchange model.
Coinlive believes that this experiment could serve as a litmus test for how far blockchain can be integrated into regulated financial systems without losing the structure and trust of traditional markets.
By making equity trading faster, cheaper, and transparent, Lise could shift the balance of power away from established intermediaries toward a more direct investor-issuer relationship.
If successful, it might spark a wave of new exchanges designed around distributed ledgers rather than legacy systems.
Europe’s market participants are now being called to trust a blockchain-based infrastructure with real capital, setting the stage for the rest of the world to follow swiftly.
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