Lightning Stock Exchange (LISE), a new stock exchange headquartered in France, is entering the market with bold ambitions to launch a fully tokenized equity exchange dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).
The Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) announced on Thursday.
“This approval allows us to operate the first tokenized stock exchange dedicated to equities in Europe,” Lise Managing Director Mark Kepeneghian said In a statement on LinkedIn.
Backed by major French banks including BNP Paribas and Bpifrance, LISE is a subsidiary of Kriptown, which positions itself as a “neo-exchange for startups and SMEs” with a focus on digital assets.
What is the DLT TSS license?
The DLT TSS license is an authorization under the European Union’s pilot regime, or a set of regulations for market infrastructures that use Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
Entering into force in March 2023, the DLT pilot regime provides a legal framework for trading and settling transactions in crypto assets that qualify as financial instruments under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID II).
The DLT TSS license enables Lise to create next-generation market infrastructure, combining “both market and post-trade functions within a single infrastructure,” the company said. It specifically refers to a combination of multilateral trading facilities (MTF) and central security deposits (CSD), adding that this mark is a “profound shift in how financial markets work.”
Rethink IPOs with tokenization
The news of LISE’s license license came months after that appear from stealing in April 2025 with a “start over” mission Initial Public Offering (IPO).
“LISE is building a unique market infrastructure powered by asset tokenization,” the company said at the time, emphasizing that this method ensures a high level of security while reducing the costs associated with IPOs and public listings.
Related: BlackRock CEO sees ‘new wave of opportunity’ in tokenization
“The first tokenized IPOs are expected to take place in early 2026, following the completion of issuer onboarding and final operational readiness testing,” Kepeneghian told Cointelegraph.
Targeting a launch in the first quarter of 2026, he said Lise’s first tokenized IPO will serve as a proof-of-concept for the model, and the company expects to tokenize 10 more IPOs in 2027.
Crédit agricole to investors
Several major European banks have placed bets on Lise’s tokenization efforts in IPOs.
Caceis, The Asset Servicing Banking Group of French Banking Giant Crédit Agricole, got A minority stake in Kriptown in August to support Lise’s launch.
“With this move, Caceis reaffirms its commitment to driving transformation in the financial sector and nurturing digital ecosystems that promote innovation,” the company said, adding:
“The investment is in line with Caceis’ long-term strategy for digital assets, which it has been pursuing for many years to support the transformation of the market infrastructure.”
Lise’s tokenization efforts in Europe mark a milestone in the growing trend for tokenized securities, with major crypto exchanges such as Gemini and Kraken debuting tokenized securities Products for EU customers earlier this year.
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