France’s first! ST Group will execute an all-on-chain IPO, with its platform listing on April 9 on the Lise blockchain platform

ST Group in France will complete the world’s first all-on-chain IPO with Lise, combining tokenized securities with an instant settlement mechanism to open up a new financing model for small and midsize enterprises.

A leading aircraft parts maker will spearhead the way, and France will produce the world’s first all-on-chain listed company

The French fintech industry is about to reach a historic moment. ST Group, an aerospace components manufacturer headquartered near Toulouse, has officially announced that it will hold its initial public offering (IPO) on April 9. The move bypasses traditional securities exchanges and instead opts to list entirely on the blockchain trading platform Lise (Lightning Stock Exchange).

Source: ST Group ST Group announces that it will carry out its IPO on the blockchain trading platform Lise

According to the aerospace subcontractor, this is the world’s first IPO completed by a traditional company on a native tokenized exchange. ST Group mainly produces composite parts used for aircraft, defense systems, and space programs. Its projected revenue from potential projects over the next 10 years is expected to reach up to €59 million (about $68 million). For small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) like ST Group, the cost of following the traditional listing route is extremely high and the process is cumbersome.

The company’s CEO, Mark Kepeneghian, candidly admits that blockchain technology provides a practical equity financing path for French industrial SMEs; otherwise, the company would not even consider listing.

Breaking down traditional finance barriers, Lise integrates trading and settlement with blockchain technology

The Lise platform that will help ST Group enter the capital markets is a new exchange headquartered in Paris, built specifically for tokenized equity. Lise’s core technology architecture is based on the Hyperledger Besu permissioned private chain, which enables it to highly integrate trading, clearing, and settlement functions that are scattered across different institutions in traditional markets into a unified automated system.

Compared with the clearing process that can take days for traditional exchanges to complete, Lise can operate 24/7 around the clock and provides near-instant settlement services, running nonstop 7 days a week. The exchange has obtained an investment company license from the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) and operates under the EU distributed ledger technology (DLT) pilot regime.

The shares issued on Lise are “security tokens” (Security Tokens) from the moment they come into existence. The blockchain ledger is the only real source of securities registration, fundamentally changing how financial markets’ underlying infrastructure operates.

Zero fees and a minimum investment starting at one share—tokenized securities reshape the retail investing experience

To lower the investment barrier and put financial democratization into practice, Lise has introduced multiple innovative mechanisms into ST Group’s IPO plan. After investors complete registration on the platform, transferred funds are automatically converted into digital deposits, and then investors can subscribe with a simple click. The platform eliminates common subscription fees and custody fees found in traditional markets and sets a minimum investment threshold of “starting from one share.” This mechanism effectively removes the privileges of institutional investors and the interference of gatekeepers. All investors are allocated according to a “first come, first served” principle, ensuring that ordinary investors can compete on a fair track alongside professional institutions.

This IPO has received support from major mainstream French financial forces, including heavyweight institutions such as BNP Paribas, CACEIS, the asset servicing organization under Crédit Agricole, and France’s national investment bank (Bpifrance). The involvement of these professional financial institutions and placing banks ensures that this action is a true IPO, with a high level of professionalism and credibility.

A touchstone under the regulatory sandbox—Europe’s financial transformation ahead of MiCA

The timing of this listing action is highly strategic, coming on the eve of the 2026 Paris Blockchain Week. At present, the size of the tokenized real-world assets (RWA) market worldwide is nearing the $1 billion mark, and the total market capitalization of tokenized stocks has reached $941 million.

As the transitional period of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) ends on July 1, 2026, only officially authorized crypto-asset service providers will be able to operate in the EU. The French regulator AMF has repeatedly urged relevant companies to submit applications as soon as possible.

The results of Lise’s operation serve as a key experimental benchmark under the EU DLT pilot regime. If ST Group’s all-on-chain IPO succeeds, Lise is expected to help bring an additional 3 to 4 companies to the market by the end of 2026. This will open up a cheaper and more efficient capital market pathway for European SMEs, and demonstrate that blockchain technology is capable of addressing liquidity and access challenges in real capital markets—thereby channeling European savings into the real economy.