DSTOQ Targets Emerging Markets with Licensed Stock Exchange

BERLIN, Aug. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- The DSTOQ platform is being developed as a solution to a pressing global issue: in many emerging markets, people have little or poor access to stock markets. With the funding shortfall in the formal SMEs market estimated at $1 trillion in 2015 (most of which is in emerging markets), businesses in developing countries are often deprived of the capital they need to grow, and as a result, are economically excluded.

Given that the brunt of the world's businesses are small or medium-sized, economic exclusion both chokes growth and represents a tremendous loss in investment opportunities.   

How the platform works

The DSTOQ platform works by issuing real-world assets in a tokenized form, allowing investors from all over the world to use cryptocurrency to access high-growth assets without using third parties. Companies wishing to raise money on the platform can create a Decentralised Public Offering (DPO). Similar to a classical IPO, the company can issue assets through the DSTOQ platform which can then be purchased and traded by investors.

Commenting on the platform, DSTOQ co-founder Craig McGregor said:

"In many developing countries, people have little or poor access to the stock market. And even where there are stock markets, investors find it challenging and expensive to access them. As a result, investors are deprived of opportunities, and more perilously, business owners lack access to capital. Both of these outcomes limit economic inclusion, which in turn chokes overall economic growth.

We believe in improving economic inclusion around the world – for people, companies and governments. This is why we have built a world first: a safe platform for investing in real-world assets using cryptocurrency." 

DSTOQ: Current status

Last month, the DSTOQ team released an MVP of its exchange, which can be accessed here. DSTOQ has also been granted a Stock Exchange License from Vanuatu, rendering it the first government-regulated exchange of its kind.

To date, the team has successfully delivered a Proof of Concept, which is fully integrated with the Stellar Decentralized Exchange. This enables peer-to-peer trading of security tokens with trade execution and settlement times of 2-5 seconds. This makes DSTOQ up to 100,000 times faster than traditional stock exchanges, where settlements usually take up to 2-5 days.

Statistics

• The countries with the highest average GDP growth between 2008 and 2017 – Nauru (16%), Ethiopia (9.8%) and Turkmenistan (9.5%) – do not have stock exchanges
• According to the World Bank, the funding shortfall in the formal SMEs market was estimated at $1 trillion in 2015, most of which is in emerging markets
• Amongst the 20 major stock exchanges in the world, only one is in Africa

DSTOQ Team

Craig Mc Gregor, Co-Founder - ex-Bloomberg Equities Analyst.
Karoline von Tschurtschenthaler, Managing Director - attorney, strategist and blockchain advocate.
Christopher Schuetz, Head of Capital Markets - Former Executive of CRX Markets AG, & Stuttgart Stock Exchange.
David Holtzman, Lead Technical Architect - Early Internet Pioneer, designer of the global DNS registration system.
Horatio Huxham, former Chief Science and Security Officer at VISA.

DSTOQ Advisors

Emin Mahrt, COO of the Aeternity blockchain
Fabian Gompf, Product Manager at Parity Technologies
Meinhard Benn, Founder of Satoshi
PayTembine Hamidou, Token Economics Advisor
Dr. Alexandra Mikityuk, Security Advisor, Head of Blockchain Architecture at Telekom Innovation Lab
Dr. Franziska Leonhardt, Strategic Advisor, Former General Counsel of Rocket Internet SE

About DSTOQ

DSTOQ is building a government-regulated borderless stock exchange. The exchange empowers companies with poor access to the stock market to raise capital, and provides investors with easy access to high-growth investment opportunities. DSTOQ's mission is to promote economic inclusion and create a platform for a new generation of investors.

Media Contact: Michael Raven, Blazon PR, +44 20 3870 3280, [email protected]

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SOURCE DSTOQ