France green lights Lise merge trading and settlement on-chain to run Europe’s first fully tokenized SME equity venue, and IPOs targeted for early 2026, recasting the IPO as a blockchain-native listing .
France has officially approved the Lightning Stock Exchange (Lise), the nation’s first fully tokenized equity exchange, indicating a major shift in how public markets and IPOs could function in the digital era.
Lise has secured a DLT TSS license from the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) under the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime, a regulatory sandbox allowing blockchain-based financial infrastructures to operate within traditional legal frameworks.
The milestone, achieved in coordination with the Banque de France, ESMA, AMF, and the European Central Bank, positions Lise as the first French market infrastructure to merge the roles of a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) and a Central Securities Depository (CSD) on a single distributed ledger.
This integration allows trading and post-trading operations to occur instantly, eliminating settlement delays, reducing counterparty risk, and potentially allowing 24/7 trading, something unprecedented in European capital markets.
Lise Open Tokenized IPO Path for Small and Mid-Cap Firms
Lise seeks to open the public markets to small and mid-cap enterprises (SMEs and midcaps) that have traditionally faced barriers to going public.
“This is a true breakthrough for capital markets,” said Mark Kepeneghian, CEO of Lise.
Backed by major institutions including BNP Paribas, Bpifrance, and CACEIS, Lise is a subsidiary of Kriptown, a French fintech that has long described itself as a “neo-exchange” for startups and growing firms.
Analysts say Lise’s approval could make France a European leader in tokenized securities, setting the stage for a future where IPOs, equity trading, and investor participation happen entirely on-chain.
Additionally, the exchange plans to host its first IPOs in early 2026, setting the stage for a new model of digital public offerings that merge traditional finance with blockchain efficiency.
The launch arrives amid a broader wave of tokenization in global finance. Data from RWA.xyz shows that real-world asset (RWA) tokenization has surged past $33.9 billion, up over 10% in the past month.
Private credit leads the sector with $17.5 billion, followed by U.S. Treasury debt at $8.3 billion and commodities at $2.8 billion, boosted by strong growth in tokenized gold markets.
Source: RWA.xyz
Ethereum dominates the RWA space, hosting $12.1 billion in tokenized assets, about 57.5% of the market, compared to $686 million on Solana, which is growing quickly but still far behind.
The rising adoption of tokenized assets reflects growing institutional interest, particularly as traditional financial players seek to modernize infrastructure.
