Europe's first blockchain IPO is here: France’s new exchange is taking aerospace firm public onchain

France’s Lightning Stock Exchange, known as Lise, is preparing to host what could become Europe’s first fully onchain stock market debut, a step that brings tokenization into the initial public offering (IPO) process.

The Paris-based exchange, approved last year under the EU's Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) pilot regime, plans to list French aerospace supplier ST Group on April 9, according to a Thursday press release.

ST Group builds composite parts used in aircraft, defense systems and space programs. The company says it has about 59 million euros ($68 million) in potential program revenue over the next decade and aims to scale output as demand rises across aerospace and military supply chains.

Tokenization has gained traction among large financial firms using blockchain rails to settle trades and track ownership of assets such as bonds, funds and equities. Proponents say tokenization could improve capital markets with cheaper and faster settlements and more efficient operations. Wall Street giants like the Nasdaq and NYSE are also laid out plans for tokenized securities trading on their platforms.

Lise pushes that concept further by moving the IPO process itself onchain. The exchange focuses on small and mid-sized firms that would face high costs and long timelines when raising capital through traditional markets. It is backed by French lenders such as BNP Paribas, CACEIS (a subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole Group) and Bpifrance.

ST Group's debut, if successful, could offer a blueprint for smaller firms a cheaper and faster path to public markets within European rules.

Read more: EU at risk of falling behind the U.S. in tokenization rules, digital asset firms warn