R3 to Support a Startup-Focused Stock Exchange in Brazil

Blockchain consortium R3 has partnered with Brazilian fintech company Banco Maré to launch a stock exchange for investing in technology firms.

Banco Maré, a blockchain-powered digital bank focused on financial inclusion, intends to build a tokenized stock exchange offering investments in technology companies with “social impact,” Cointelegraph Brazil reports July 16.

The new R3 technology-backed platform, provisionally named BVM12, will purportedly open a new funding source for technology startups, as well as enable individual investors to generate dividends from investments in new technologies, the report notes.

Rio de Janeiro-based Banco Maré has reportedly conducted its first informal consultations with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission, and is reportedly planning to make an official request to the agency in August 2019.

Banco Maré CEO Alexander Albuquerque claimed that the new venture aims to democratize risky investment and bring the low-income public to the stock market.

Earlier in June, Cointelegraph reported that the Brazilian government was considering a bill requiring all units of local public administrations to promote new technologies such as blockchain. Recently, the Brazilian diplomatic academy, the Rio Branco Institute, was reported to start requiring candidates to have knowledge of cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

On July 12, the Brazilian state of Bahia launched a blockchain-based app to track the process of public bidding on government contracts.