This approval allows tZERO Markets to offer its customers retail brokerage services for digital securities and provide issuers with investment banking and placement agent services in connection with capital raising activities.

tZERO CEO Saum Noursalehi stated, “Today’s announcement is an important milestone and further advances our vision of creating the most robust and innovative marketplace for private assets. Through tZERO Markets, we will establish a direct relationship with our customers, while also offering a streamlined experience for onboarding and trading digital securities. We expect tZERO Markets to launch its services in a couple of months.”

Private markets have become a critical part of capital formation. They include a range of asset types and issuers, including growth-stage companies, real estate, and funds. tZERO is playing an instrumental role in opening additional investment opportunities for investors that would normally not have access to trade private securities.

“From digitizing a private company’s ownership records to trading through an institutional-grade order-management system, tZERO has built an end-to-end ecosystem that democratizes access to private assets,” concluded Noursalehi.

The initial tZERO Markets’ launch will be web-based, followed by iOS and Android mobile applications, subject to regulatory review. At launch, tZERO Markets will start onboarding U.S.-based retail investors with plans to expand to entities and international investors.

tZERO is a technology firm with the goal of democratizing access to private capital markets. tZERO is a subsidiary of Medici Ventures, the blockchain-focused, wholly owned subsidiary of Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK).