Athena Blockchain, a startup investment firm focused on tokenized investment products. is teaming up with FINRA-registered broker-dealer 303 Alternatives LLC to allow marketing and placement of its offerings in .
The acquisition puts the Chicago-based company on a firmer regulatory footing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and positions it to offer both traditional investment banking services and a broader range of blockchain-based securities.
The step also paves the way for the company to tap business lines of the to operate its contemplated U.S. oriented services in a regulatory compliant manner.
Effectively, both firms hope to see its regulated systems attract more professional and institutional investors to a market that has raised more than $4 billion in 2017.
The move also comes just as the US Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking legitimate platforms serving as trading venues for digital assets.
This topic has received much attention since the SEC made clear that any digital token with an income stream is a security, and furthermore that any entity wants to become an ATS needs to register with the SEC as a broker-dealer and become a member of a self-regulating organization, such as the FINRA.
Earlier in June, has announced that it is moving forward with a plan to acquire licensure that would allow the company to begin offering blockchain-based securities and participate in the . The company has also acquired the broker-dealer Keystone Capital Corp., based in California.
Additionally, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Huobi, has recently made a significant investment in OpenFinance Network (OFN), a trading exchange for .
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