BLOCKCHAIN IN LAW
August Debouzy: Blockchain Case Study for Security & Token Offerings
The global blockchain leader, Consensys, and leading law firm headquartered in Paris, August Debouzy, combine their expertise to offer asset managers, investors, distributors, and enterprises a joint Security Token Offering (STO)* service.
Introducing joint security token offering services
The Challenge
Security Token Offerings (STOs) are becoming a new and attractive source of financing or investment, for companies and asset managers. Thanks to blockchain technology, tokenized financial assets improve efficiency for both issuers and investors.
In general, asset digitization can increase automation, streamline back-office processes, and reduce costs by eliminating certain intermediaries, including clearing, settlement, voting proxies, and other new and innovative features. Asset digitization also offers a liquidity bridge between private and public securities through ATS and dark pools – as well as a wide canvas on which to reimagine investments better aligned with investor needs. By doing so, asset digitization can expand and create new markets, resulting in compounded value creation for issuers.
How can asset managers, investors, distributors, and enterprises navigate the cumbersome legal environment surrounding STOs and confidently launch tokenized assets?
“Convinced that the current economic environment requires exploring new financing opportunities for our clients while providing them with regulatory expertise and legal certainty, we are pleased to be working closely on STOs with ConsenSys whose knowledge and experience in blockchain and crypto-assets is recognized by all.”
– Philippe Lorentz, Partner at August Debouzy
August Debouzy + Consensys
Security Token Offering Service
August Debouzy brings its legal expertise, aiming to advise clients on the issuance of financial instruments (equities, bonds, fund shares, etc.) on the blockchain, in a compliant way, while reducing complexity and costs related to intermediaries and distributors. Consensys is the world’s largest pure-play blockchain technology company and leading specialist in Ethereum, the platform of choice for Decentralized Finance hosting over 90% of security tokens. Consensys has developed one of the world’s most advanced technology platforms to support tokenized financial assets, powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Using Consensys Digital Assets, issuers, investors and other institutional actors are able to issue and exchange tokenized financial assets on public or private blockchain networks. Tokenized assets are hard-coded to be transferable in pre-approved conditions only, as per legal, KYC and AML compliance requirements. This collaboration aims to bring together legal and technical expertise in order to design solutions that are better suited to each client’s needs. “Blockchain brings multiple benefits through tokenized assets and we are just beginning to measure the significance. Not only is the issuing process simplified, but all business and legal rules are automated. This ensures greater efficiency, and results in a reduction in the number of disputes, a diversification of the pool of investors, and greater liquidity, etc.” – Anne-Sophie Cartray, Executive Director, Consensys
About August Debouzy
August Debouzy was created in 1995 and is comprised of 150 lawyers, including 30 partners acting in all major areas of French and EU law. With a large international network of referral firms, August Debouzy is a full-service law firm and each of their practice groups is fully recognized as an expert in its sector. August Debouzy received the Best French Law Firm award in 2019, awarded by The Lawyer. August Debouzy and Consensys presented at VivaTechnology 2019, demonstrating the benefits of STOs and the added value of combining blockchain and legal skills to support these new operations.