The Security Token Academy held an ‘industry launch event’ in early October 2018. The event featured a long list of notable speakers, covering virtually all areas of tokenized securities in both the technology and regulatory sectors. The Custody and Transfer Agent Panel highlighted the urgent need for trust, if security tokens are to witness global adoption.

The event featured the brightest and most-experienced individuals in the young security token space. Keynote speakers included Fabian Vogelsteller, the creator of the ERC-20 token standard, and David Weild, the former Vice Chairman of Nasdaq.

Multitudes of blockchain enthusiasts showed up to listen to the industry’s experts. They learned about the ongoing evolution of security tokens, the latest— and perhaps most promising— development in the blockchain space.

Many shared their experiences via twitter, using the hashtag #securitytokenindustrylaunch.

The Custody and Transfer Agent Panel Speakers

The panel— led by Gautam Gujral— featured the following four individuals:

Gautam Gujral, Founder & General Counsel, Vertalo

Yoel Goldfelder, CEO, VStock Transfer, LLC

Oscar Jofre, Co-founder, President & CEO, KoreConX

Scott Purcell, CEO & Chief Trust Officer, Prime Trust

The event’s success brings an even stronger echo to the future of security tokens. Many see the new industry as revolutionizing the traditional financial securities realm. However, powerful regulatory bodies— such as the SEC— have yet to provide clear guidance concerning tokenized securities compliance.

Such an atmosphere can result in hesitation, or distrust, from investors, issuance platforms, exchanges, and virtually all aspects of a security token system. This was precisely the issue addressed by Gujral.

“Trillions of dollars won’t flow without trust.”

So what needs to happen for such trust to be built? Gujral holds that his enterprise— Vertalo— is a great start.

How Vertalo Hopes to Build Trust in the Security Token Industry

In a separate interview, Gujral emphasized the SEC’s stance that most ICOs and token offerings they’ve seen are actually securities offerings. He claims that his company, Vertalo, has developed the technology that allows for a securities compliant token offering.

“The token technology we’ve developed allows for the issuer to lock-up a token for a requisite amount of time under the securities laws. It also allows for direct communication between the issuer and the token holder, thereby bypassing many of the intermediaries that you have in the world today. It also allows the issuer to know— without having to go through intermediaries [such as broker-dealers]— who the holders of their tokens are, so that they can communicate directly with them.”

Ultimately, the benefits of Vertalo’s platform can help to actualize much of the promising future that many see for security tokens, says Gujral.

“These are all things that are going to revolutionize the capital markets in this country going forward. And not just in this country, regardless of the way the regulatory world turns, this is going to be something that people are going to demand in the future, and tokens allow us to do that.”

What’s your stance on trust in the security token sector? What needs to happen in order for that to be strengthened? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Twitter, Vertalo, VStock Transfer, KoreconX, and Prime Trust.