Paris-based Lightning Stock Exchange (LISE) has secured approval from France’s financial regulator, ACPR, to operate as the first fully tokenized equity exchange in Europe. The license, granted under the EU’s Distributed Ledger Technology Pilot Regime, allows Lise to merge trading and settlement within a single blockchain infrastructure, a structure designed to streamline equity issuance and secondary trading.
The authorization, according to industry sources, was shaped with input from the Banque de France, ESMA, AMF, and the European Central Bank, establishing Lise as a fully regulated counterpart to traditional exchanges.
It combines the functions of a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) and a Central Securities Depository (CSD), offering real-time, atomic settlement. Backed by BNP Paribas, CACEIS, and Bpifrance, Lise targets small and midcap European companies valued under €500M, with at least half of listed issuers expected to be SMEs.
Lise plans its first IPOs in early 2026, targeting energy, infrastructure, and defense. CEO Mark Kepeneghian said “It addresses real-world financing needs by merging transparency, compliance, and blockchain efficiency”, comment the crypto journalist Raphaël Bloch.
Europe’s eye-opening for tokenized economy
Bloch described the authorization as “a major milestone for European capital markets.” His post on X highlighted that Lise now operates as an “on-chain stock exchange,” integrating both trading and custody under one regulated framework.
Lise’s approval reflects a broader European trend toward institutional tokenization. Yesterday, OKX and Standard Chartered expanded their institutional digital asset partnership into Europe under MiCA regulations, offering custody and trading solutions for regulated markets.
As tokenized markets expand, initiatives like Lise and MiCA-backed infrastructures are building the foundation for a new ecosystem.
Tokenization is no longer a theoretical promise but a regulated reality, one that blurs the line between traditional securities and blockchain-based assets.
Also read: U.S. Bank To Launch Digital Assets Unit for Tokenized Payments
