Horizon Authorizes SEC-Regulated Transfer Agent Vertalo to List Issuers On the Upstream Global Stock Exchange
Partnership to offer U.S. Issuers Secondary Trading Liquidity on the Next Generation Digital Exchange & Trading App
Horizon Fintex (“Horizon”), the FinTech company powering Upstream, a regulated digital stock exchange and retail trading app, has authorized SEC-registered1 transfer agent Vertalo to release its issuers’ shares on Upstream for secondary trading. The agreement offers U.S. issuers a seamless path to secondary trading on the world’s first regulated2 stock exchange for crowdfunded securities.
Expected Q1 2021, Upstream is a joint venture between Horizon and MERJ Exchange Limited (“MERJ”), an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges, which is set to be one of the first exchanges dedicated to the $4.7-billion-dollar global equity crowdfunding market3. Upstream will list crowdfunding issuers in addition to supporting IPOs, STOs, and secondary listings for fan-driven asset classes related to international athletes, musicians and entertainers.
Unlike Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) which are private marketplaces for order matching, Upstream is a regulated stock exchange open to the public and offers real time, live trading from a user-friendly retail trading app. Traders are given direct access to the exchange and its transparent, investor-driven orderbook executing best bids and offers. This differs from many of today’s retail marketplaces where pricing relies on market makers and routing order flow4. Predatory market practices like short selling are proactively prevented.
Horizon CEO Brian Collins shared, “We are thrilled to add Vertalo to Horizon’s list of authorized U.S. transfer agents. Upstream gives direct exchange access to Vertalo issuers looking to reach a new retail audience, and supply exit-liquidity for their shareholders.”
Vertalo, the Cayman subsidiary of US-based SeriesX, has supported the digital securities community with its industry-leading lifecycle management solutions since May 2018. This agreement enables Vertalo to expand its securities lifecycle offering through to a regulated secondary trading marketplace.
Vertalo CEO and Co-Founder Dave Hendricks says, “We look forward to expanding our transfer agent and cap table management solutions to more issuers and giving our investor community access to Upstream’s exciting new retail exchange that’s squarely aimed at unlocking liquidity in the multi-billion-dollar U.S. crowdfunding industry. This partnership between Vertalo and Horizon is part of a growing movement against naked short-selling and towards improved liquidity for private assets and investors who are currently underserved by a system that excludes thousands of companies that are seeking alternatives to traditional M&A or unicorn-first IPO liquidity.”
Upstream is now accepting IPOs and secondary trading listing at https://upstream.exchange. Interested transfer agents, registrars, brokers, and other crowdfunding community participants can reach the Upstream team at [email protected].
[1] https://www.sec.gov/divisions/marketreg/mrtransfer.shtml
[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/horizon-merj-announce-upstream-first-120000830.html
[3] https://p2pmarketdata.com/crowdfunding-statistics-worldwide/
[4] https://dailycaller.com/2021/02/02/robinhood-hedge-funds-citadel-order-flows-gamestop-stock-market/
About Upstream:
Upstream is a global retail marketplace for crowdfunded and digital securities. Powered by Horizon’s proprietary matching engine technology, the exchange enables investors to trade shares in high-growth startups and other unique asset classes directly from its trading app, https://upstream.exchange.
About Vertalo
Launched after its March 2018 STO, Vertalo is a B2B SaaS company founded to map the gaps between primary and secondary trading of digital securities offerings. As the ‘Operating System for Digital Assets,’ Vertalo is focused on connecting and enabling the digital asset economy, providing an industry-leading cap table and investor onboarding solution that facilitates direct ownership and direct listing of any private asset. In addition to offering direct issuance services to private companies, Vertalo also offers white-label, licensed, and joint venture opportunities to capital advisors, broker-dealers, and investment banks. A subsidiary of SeriesX, Vertalo is headquartered in Austin, TX with offices in New York City and Seoul. Learn more about SeriesX and Vertalo at www.vertalo.com.
About MERJ:
MERJ Exchange (MERJ) operates Upstream as a fully regulated and licensed integrated securities exchange, clearing system and depository for digital and non-digital securities. MERJ is an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), recognized by HM Revenue and Customs UK, a full member of the Association of National Numbering Agencies and a Qualifying Foreign Exchange for OTC Markets in the US and also member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative.
About Horizon:
Horizon is a fintech company that builds and powers global securities exchanges with an integrated suite of software for compliant issuance, management, and secondary trading of securities. Its in-house solutions combine Wall Street and Silicon Valley to power the next generation of securities offerings and trading in the U.S. and globally. Learn more at https://www.horizonfintex.com/.
Photos by Carlos Oliva via Pexels
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