France Launches Lise to Pioneer Europe’s First Fully Tokenized Equity Market

France's financial sector takes a groundbreaking leap with the introduction of the Lightning Stock Exchange (Lise), a blockchain-powered platform designed to revolutionize equity trading for small and medium-sized enterprises. Backed by heavyweight institutions including BNP Paribas and Caceis, Lise has secured Europe's first Distributed Ledger Technology Trading and Settlement System license, clearing regulatory hurdles for tokenized IPOs.

The exchange plans to execute its maiden tokenized public offering in early 2026, with ambitions to host ten additional listings by 2027. By merging trading and settlement on a unified DLT platform, Lise promises to slash transaction times and operational costs—potentially reshaping capital formation for European SMEs.

This initiative positions France at the vanguard of institutional blockchain adoption, creating infrastructure that could serve as a blueprint for other EU markets. The platform's success may accelerate mainstream acceptance of tokenized securities beyond cryptocurrency-native investors.