Openfinance
| Openfinance | |
| |
| Founded | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Chicago, IL |
| Key People | Juan Hernandez, Founder and CEO |
| Employees | 25-50 |
| Products | OpenFinance Network Trade Platform, Investor Passport |
| @OpenFinanceIO | |
| Profile | |
| Website | OpenFinance.io |
| Blog | OFN Blog |
Openfinance is a trading platform based on a distributed ledger that uses tokenization to simplify electronic trading. The platform is built to simplify the process of applying anti-money laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), and legal compliance to trading cryptocurrency and other assets.[1]
The company was acquired by the Gibralter-based trading platform INX in October 2020 for an undisclosed amount.[2] As of June 29, 2021, it was not clear if Openfinance still operated.
Products and Services[edit]
Openfinance is a software platform that allows users to view a publicly-available whitelist of compliant, qualified broker-dealers, administrators, and agents in order to trade cryptocurrency assets. The platform can also manage multiple assets being handled by multiple trading entities. It also provides users with the ability to tokenize things they wish to trade, allowing existing businesses to enter the space and trade token-based securities.[3] Juan Hernandez, the founder and CEO of Openfinance said in an interview with Crowdfund Insider in 2019 that if there was "an audience" for it, the platform could allow customers to tokenize and sell shares of non-traditional assets like artwork or intellectual property. Hernandez joked that this way, investors could tokenize shares of a Fabergé egg if they wanted to.[4]
Background[edit]
Hernandez created a platform for secondary market transfers of securities in alternative asset classes called CFX Markets in 2014. The aim was to take advantage of new investment opportunities created by the JOBS Act of 2012, in order to allow non-accredited investors to participate in alternative markets investing. When digital assets such as cryptocurrency began making headway into the mainstream in 2016, Hernandez began working with various agents and accredited investors within the emerging cryptocurrency market space to create a similar platform for cryptocurrency assets and other alternative assets. This was the beginning of Openfinance.[5][6]
Development of the the platform began in 2017. Openfinance opened its beta on June 28, 2018.[7] It moved out of beta and began offering its first STO in December 2018.[8]
The platform launched in Q4 of 2018.[9]
Fundraising[edit]
Openfinance raised funds in part through venture capital investments. One such investor was Chicago's West Loop Ventures; a manager for this company, Jeff Carter, is on the advisory board, along with Anthony Pompiliano of Morgan Creek Digital, and Tor Bair of Enigma MPC. In July 2018, Openfinance announced that it had hired James Stonebridge as its chief operating officer.[10][11][12]
In August 2018, Huobi, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, announced a strategic partnership and investment in Openfinance. The amount of the investment was not disclosed, but it was described as "significant."[13][14]
The company was acquired by INX in October 2020.
References[edit]
- ↑ Tokenizing the Financial World. OpenFinance Network.
- ↑ INX. Crunchbase.
- ↑ Tokenizing the Financial World. OpenFinance Network.
- ↑ Will 2019 be the Year of the Security Token? A Discussion with Juan Hernandez of OpenFinance Network. Crowdfund Insider.
- ↑ Financial Hardships Pushing Innovation: A History of Alternative Assets. OpenFinance Network.
- ↑ OpenFinance Network. Linkedin.
- ↑ First US Regulated Security Token Trading Platform to Market, OpenFinance Network, is Officially Live. ABC news.
- ↑ Open Finance Network (OFN) Moves from Beta to Full Trading Functionality. Cryptovest.
- ↑ Will 2019 be the Year of the Security Token? A Discussion with Juan Hernandez of OpenFinance Network. Crowdfund Insider.
- ↑ Tokenizing the Financial World. OpenFinance Network.
- ↑ Company Overview of Open Finance Network. Bloomberg.
- ↑ James Stonebridge. Linkedin.
- ↑ Huobi, One of World’s Largest Crypto Exchanges, Invests in OpenFinance Network. Business Wire.
- ↑ Huobi Buys into Security Token Platform OpenFinance Network. Cryptovest.