France to Launch World’s First Fully On-Chain IPO on April 9

France is set to make history on April 9 with the world’s first fully on-chain initial public offering (IPO) for a traditional company in the country. 

Aerospace subcontractor ST Group, based near Toulouse, will list its shares on Lise (Lightning Stock Exchange), a blockchain-powered platform that combines trading and settlement functions in one infrastructure. 

According to Gregory Raymond from The Big Whale, who first reported the coverage, this IPO will be backed by heavyweights including BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole’s CACEIS, and Bpifrance. 

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Lise operates under a distributed ledger technology license from French regulators. The process is designed to slash the usual red tape that deters small and medium-sized enterprises from going public.

Under this setup, investors will be able to simply register, transfer funds that are automatically tokenized as deposits, and subscribe with a single click. The minimum investment is one share, with no subscription or custody fees on the primary market. A placement bank and institutional players are involved, ensuring it qualifies as a genuine IPO rather than crowdfunding.

“ST Group would never have pursued a traditional listing — it’s too heavy and expensive for an SME,” said Lise CEO Mark Kepeneghian. He added that blockchain finally offers French industrial SMEs a practical route to equity funding.

Lise claims a clear lead over U.S. rival Securitize and Swiss group SIX, which have yet to complete a similar fully on-chain IPO. The platform expects to list three or four more companies before the end of 2026.

The move highlights France’s push to blend traditional finance with blockchain efficiency, potentially opening public markets to smaller firms long shut out by high costs and complexity.

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