Partnership to offer U.S. Issuers Secondary Trading Liquidity on the Next Generation Digital Exchange & Trading App

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 11, 2021 / Horizon Fintex ("Horizon"), the FinTech company powering Upstream, a regulated digital stock exchange and retail trading app, has authorized SEC-registered¹ transfer agent Vertalo to release its issuers' shares on Upstream for secondary trading. The agreement offers U.S. issuers a seamless path to secondary trading on the world's first regulated² stock exchange for crowdfunded securities.

Expected Q1 2021, Upstream is a joint venture between Horizon and MERJ Exchange Limited ("MERJ"), an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges, which is set to be one of the first exchanges dedicated to the $4.9-billion-dollar global equity crowdfunding market³. Upstream will list crowdfunding issuers in addition to supporting IPOs, STOs, and secondary listings for fan-driven asset classes related to international athletes, musicians and entertainers.

Unlike Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) which are private marketplaces for order matching, Upstream is a regulated stock exchange open to the public and offers real time, live trading from a user-friendly retail trading app. Traders are given direct access to the exchange and its transparent, investor-driven orderbook executing best bids and offers. This differs from many of today's retail marketplaces where pricing relies on market makers and routing order flow⁴. Predatory market practices like short selling are proactively prevented.

Horizon CEO Brian Collins shared, "We are thrilled to add Vertalo to Horizon's list of authorized U.S. transfer agents. Upstream gives direct exchange access to Vertalo issuers looking to reach a new retail audience and supply exit-liquidity for their shareholders."

Vertalo, the Cayman subsidiary of US-based SeriesX, has supported the digital securities community with its industry-leading lifecycle management solutions since May 2018. This agreement enables Vertalo to expand its securities lifecycle offering through to a regulated secondary trading marketplace.

Vertalo CEO and Co-Founder Dave Hendricks says, "We look forward to expanding our transfer agent and cap table management solutions to more issuers and giving our investor community access to Upstream's exciting new retail exchange that's squarely aimed at unlocking liquidity in the multi-billion-dollar U.S. crowdfunding industry. This partnership between Vertalo and Horizon is part of a growing movement against naked short-selling and towards improved liquidity for private assets and investors who are currently underserved by a system that excludes thousands of companies that are seeking alternatives to traditional M&A or unicorn-first IPO liquidity."

Upstream is now accepting IPOs and secondary trading listing applications at https://upstream.exchange. Interested transfer agents, registrars, brokers, and other crowdfunding community participants can reach the Upstream team at hello@upstream.exchange.

[1] https://www.sec.gov/divisions/marketreg/mrtransfer.shtml
[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/horizon-merj-announce-upstream-first-120000830.html
[3] https://p2pmarketdata.com/crowdfunding-statistics-worldwide/
[4] https://dailycaller.com/2021/02/02/robinhood-hedge-funds-citadel-order-flows-gamestop-stock-market/

About Upstream:

Upstream is a global retail marketplace for crowdfunded and digital securities. Powered by Horizon's proprietary matching engine technology, the exchange enables investors to trade shares in high-growth startups and other unique asset classes directly from its trading app, https://upstream.exchange.

About Vertalo:

Launched after its March 2018 STO, Vertalo is a B2B SaaS company founded to map the gaps between primary and secondary trading of digital securities offerings. As the ‘Operating System for Digital Assets,' Vertalo is focused on connecting and enabling the digital asset economy, providing an industry-leading cap table and investor onboarding solution that facilitates direct ownership and direct listing of any private asset. In addition to offering direct issuance services to private companies, Vertalo also offers white-label, licensed, and joint venture opportunities to capital advisors, broker-dealers, and investment banks. A subsidiary of SeriesX, Vertalo is headquartered in Austin, TX with offices in New York City and Seoul. Learn more about SeriesX and Vertalo at www.vertalo.com.

About MERJ:

MERJ Exchange (MERJ) operates Upstream as a fully regulated and licensed integrated securities exchange, clearing system and depository for digital and non-digital securities. MERJ is an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), recognized by HM Revenue and Customs UK, a full member of the Association of National Numbering Agencies and a Qualifying Foreign Exchange for OTC Markets in the US and also member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative.

About Horizon:

Horizon is a fintech company that builds and powers global securities exchanges with an integrated suite of software for compliant issuance, management, and secondary trading of securities. Its in-house solutions combine Wall Street and Silicon Valley to power the next generation of securities offerings and trading in the U.S. and globally. Learn more at https://www.horizonfintex.com/.

Press Contact:

Vanessa Malone
vanessa@horizonfintex.com
(805) 637-1963

Disclaimers:

Upstream is a MERJ Exchange market. MERJ Exchange is a licensed Securities Exchange, an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges and full member of ANNA. MERJ supports global issuers of traditional and digital securities through the entire asset life cycle from issuance to trading, clearing, settlement and registry. It operates a fair and transparent marketplace in line with international best practice and principles of operations of financial markets. Upstream does not endorse or recommend any public or private securities bought or sold on its app. Upstream does not offer investment advice or recommendations of any kind. All brokerage services offered by Upstream are intended for self-directed clients who make their own investment decisions without aid or assistance from Upstream. All customers are subject to the rules and regulations of their jurisdiction. By accessing the site or app, you agreed to be bound by its terms of use and privacy policy. Company and security listings on Upstream are only suitable for investors who are familiar with and willing to accept the high risk associated with speculative investments, often in early and development stage companies. There can be no assurance the valuation of any particular company's securities is accurate or in agreement with the market or industry comparative valuations. Investors must be able to afford market volatility and afford the loss of their investment. Companies listed on Upstream are subject to significant ongoing corporate obligations including, but not limited to disclosure, filings and notification requirements, as well compliance with applicable quantitative and qualitative listing standards.

SOURCE: GlobexUS Holdings, Corp

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