This week, Lise (Lightning Stock Exchange) announced the successful closing of what it claimed is the world’s first IPO executed on a fully regulated, natively tokenized market infrastructure. As the first exchange in history to achieve this, Lise demonstrates that DLT-native equity offerings can meet the full legal and operational standards of traditional markets, opening a new chapter for capital formation in Europe.
Lise has brought a company to market through a Unified Market Infrastructure — a single, natively tokenized layer where the Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) and Central Securities Depository (CSD) functions are merged into one. Issuance, order matching, and settlement occur on the same infrastructure, in real time, with no T+2 lag and no structural disconnect between the moment a trade is agreed and the moment it is settled.
Lise said this architecture also enables something previously impossible on a regulated exchange: continuous 24/7 trading. Roughly 60% of subscription orders were placed outside of traditional market hours.
“This is much more than just an IPO; it is the launch of a next-generation stock exchange,” stated Mark Kepeneghian, CEO of Lise. “It demonstrates that France and Europe can still pioneer major technological disruptions. By combining a natively tokenized technology stack, a robust regulatory framework, and streamlined access, we are fundamentally transforming how capital is formed and traded. This is a foundational step in building a more efficient, agile, and inclusive market infrastructure.”
Settlement on Lise is conducted in deposit tokens — regulated digital cash issued by a licensed banking institution, held in safeguarded accounts.
ST GROUP is a French industrial SME supplying composite materials to the defence and aerospace sectors.
“That a company of this profile chose (us) as its path to market is a proof of concept in itself: modern market infrastructure can serve strategic, high-quality issuers that legacy exchanges have left behind,” Lise said in a statement. “With this first IPO validating the model, Lise is now accelerating the expansion of its tokenized architecture to a broader range of financial instruments.”