Milano, Italy – October 12th, 2023 – BlockInvest and Hercle, two leading names in the blockchain and finance industries, joined forces to host the “Digital Assets Investing” event at the prestigious Palazzo Mezzanotte, Italian Stock Exchange, Milano. This event, held on October 5, 2023, served as a bridge between the world of blockchain technology and financial institutions, attracting participation from prominent investment firms, banks, and financial industry experts.
The event, which featured various presentations and panels on use cases, was inaugurated by Chiara Rossetti of Euronext Milan, who spoke about “a positive evolution in the blockchain technology debate compared to a few years ago. This evolution should also be considered in the context of regulatory frameworks.”
Among the panels presented by BlockInvest was “Tokenization Structuring,” featuring the participation of Andrea Riva (Head of Capital Markets and Open Innovation, Crédit Agricole Italia) and Gabriele Tavazzani (CEO, Amundi SGR).
Gabriele Tavazzani declared: “Why not start from Italy, why not begin from here and get ahead of the rest of Europe in this field? We have everything we need, the technology, local expertise, and regulations. We should aspire to be the locomotive. I don’t settle for being a passenger on one of the train cars. We should aim to set the market standard to pave the way, or rather the tracks, for other European countries that may later be interested in localizing their activities in our country.“
He then added: “With blockchain, I can distribute the same common funds with a competitive advantage. So, I can envision that Amundi, the largest European manager of euro-denominated money funds, can create the first tokenized fund under Italian law, open and digitally native. A fund that I can hold in my wallet, absolutely fungible, which I can not only redeem but also transfer or even use as a means of payment or collateral.“
Another panel chaired by Lorenzo Rigatti, CEO and co-founder of BlockInvest, was “Tokenization to the Market: Investor Management and Protection,” with contributions from Francesco Martiniello (Chief Compliance & AFC Officer, illimity Bank) and Antonio Di Feo (Chief of Transformation, Indosuez Wealth Management Italia).
The discussion focused on critical aspects of the relationship with investors, including their protection, in the context of the tokenization of financial instruments.
Martiniello emphasized that with BlockInvest, they are talking about “on-chain identity tokenization with the so-called TokenID.” Confirming illimity’s willingness to collaborate with BlockInvest in shaping a market standard, thanks to the significant work illimity is doing in the field of AML and transaction monitoring. Additionally, through this collaboration, BlockInvest is developing a new product: BlockID, an innovative and unique system for creating an on-chain investor profile.
This feature would bring efficiency benefits for both investors and banks. For example, “the ability to exclude a user with suspicious activities, which, to date, using traditional systems, is a non-automated and, consequently, time-consuming process.“
Di Feo insisted on the “the need for a player like Indosuez to work on the generational transition for its clients. The highly increasing trend in digital assets forces us to give a significant response. NEXT GEN clients will invest up to 5% of their portfolio in this type of asset by 2027. Through tokenization we can also offer an important investment diversification option.“
The event concluded with greetings from Lorenzo Rigatti, CEO of BlockInvest, who thanked all the partners, the numerous participants and the italian stock exchange for hosting.
