In the proposed approach, the idea is presented to give liquidity to assets totaling $1 trillion that are in a "frozen" state in venture funds.
Addcapital, a venture fund, and the VNX Exchange, a stock platform from Luxembourg, have announced an agreement to tokenize $20 million for the purpose of financing and increasing liquidity in venture projects. This information was presented at a roundtable discussion on the future of financial markets and the regulation of digital financial assets, which took place on September 20 at the Moscow Stock Exchange. The first participants capable of "tokenizing" their projects on the VNX exchange will be Startup Bootcamp and other European accelerators and venture funds.
This case represents one of the first examples of blockchain technology being integrated into venture business. Despite various ideas for using distributed ledger technology, only a few have been successfully implemented in practice. In most cases, the crypto community remains isolated from real business.
Vladimir Khanumyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the VNX Exchange, explained that currently, venture and private funds "freeze" their money for several years, investing them in startups until they become profitable. Approximately three trillion dollars remain inactive, and the new platform is an attempt to provide liquidity to these assets.
Alexander Tkachenko, founder of the VNX exchange, explained that the partners' task is to create a marketplace where funds can "tokenize" their portfolios. The use of an already existing certified platform increases the security of placed assets, eliminating the possibility of avoiding responsibility in case of their disappearance or theft.
Tkachenko acknowledges that working with new tools will pose difficulties for funds, as there are no approved methods for assessing tokenized assets. He anticipates that the first investors in tokenized portfolios will be crypto investors and crypto funds that are already familiar with such operations and can assess risks and returns.
However, Konstantin Vinogradov, Senior Investment Manager at the venture fund Runa Capital, expresses skepticism about the new tool. In his opinion, tokenization does not solve the problem of assessing the assets of venture funds, and he claims that funds usually attract money only at the early stages of their activities due to the complexity of current valuation.
Co-founder and Managing Partner of Tokenbox, Vladimir Smerkis, welcomes the new tool with optimism. He agrees with VNX that venture investments often turn out to be illiquid, and tokenization allows investors to enter the project, ensuring liquidity of the fund's assets.
Smerkis emphasizes that the company in which the venture fund invests is tokenized within a "closed perimeter," and tokens become securities that can be sold to other accredited investors.
From a technical point of view, in his opinion, the scheme is simple and effective, and legal schemes for its implementation have already been developed. It is important that real participants willing to buy and sell tokens of various companies appear on the created platform.
The VNX exchange will operate in accordance with the laws of Luxembourg, as the country has the best legislative framework and a sufficient number of partners capable of following its laws. In Russia, the current legislation is not very suitable for using such instruments, but Sergey Polikanov, Executive Director of Sberbank CIB, notes that amendments are being prepared to allow raising funds in digital assets. If adopted, startups will be able to successfully attract funds in B and C rounds, which is currently problematic in Russia.
Addcapital, a venture fund, and the VNX Exchange, a stock platform from Luxembourg, have announced an agreement to tokenize $20 million for the purpose of financing and increasing liquidity in venture projects. This information was presented at a roundtable discussion on the future of financial markets and the regulation of digital financial assets, which took place on September 20 at the Moscow Stock Exchange. The first participants capable of "tokenizing" their projects on the VNX exchange will be Startup Bootcamp and other European accelerators and venture funds.
This case represents one of the first examples of blockchain technology being integrated into venture business. Despite various ideas for using distributed ledger technology, only a few have been successfully implemented in practice. In most cases, the crypto community remains isolated from real business.
Vladimir Khanumyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the VNX Exchange, explained that currently, venture and private funds "freeze" their money for several years, investing them in startups until they become profitable. Approximately three trillion dollars remain inactive, and the new platform is an attempt to provide liquidity to these assets.
Alexander Tkachenko, founder of the VNX exchange, explained that the partners' task is to create a marketplace where funds can "tokenize" their portfolios. The use of an already existing certified platform increases the security of placed assets, eliminating the possibility of avoiding responsibility in case of their disappearance or theft.
Tkachenko acknowledges that working with new tools will pose difficulties for funds, as there are no approved methods for assessing tokenized assets. He anticipates that the first investors in tokenized portfolios will be crypto investors and crypto funds that are already familiar with such operations and can assess risks and returns.
However, Konstantin Vinogradov, Senior Investment Manager at the venture fund Runa Capital, expresses skepticism about the new tool. In his opinion, tokenization does not solve the problem of assessing the assets of venture funds, and he claims that funds usually attract money only at the early stages of their activities due to the complexity of current valuation.
Co-founder and Managing Partner of Tokenbox, Vladimir Smerkis, welcomes the new tool with optimism. He agrees with VNX that venture investments often turn out to be illiquid, and tokenization allows investors to enter the project, ensuring liquidity of the fund's assets.
Smerkis emphasizes that the company in which the venture fund invests is tokenized within a "closed perimeter," and tokens become securities that can be sold to other accredited investors.
From a technical point of view, in his opinion, the scheme is simple and effective, and legal schemes for its implementation have already been developed. It is important that real participants willing to buy and sell tokens of various companies appear on the created platform.
The VNX exchange will operate in accordance with the laws of Luxembourg, as the country has the best legislative framework and a sufficient number of partners capable of following its laws. In Russia, the current legislation is not very suitable for using such instruments, but Sergey Polikanov, Executive Director of Sberbank CIB, notes that amendments are being prepared to allow raising funds in digital assets. If adopted, startups will be able to successfully attract funds in B and C rounds, which is currently problematic in Russia.
December 21