By Anastasia Samaras
This week, MERJ Exchange Limited, announced that it has entered into an Introducing Broker Referral Agreement with Boustead Securities, LLC (Boustead), a licensed FINRA member, to allow U.S. investors to trade dual listed U.S. and international securities on Upstream.
Interested U.S. investors may now join the waitlist: Upstream Waitlist | Boustead Securities (boustead1828.com).
U.S. investors gain access to Upstream’s secondary market
U.S. investors that wish to trade securities using the Upstream app must first register with Boustead Securities, and then, using the Upstream app, simply “tap-to-unlock” the facility to both trade securities listed on Upstream’s secondary market and to deposit eligible securities that they may hold at U.S. brokerage firms and transfer agents.
U.S. investors may join the Boustead waitlist and will be notified once they are eligible to apply for securities trading on Upstream. The waitlist, along with instructions on how to register with Boustead, can be found at https://www.boustead1828.com/upstream. Access to Upstream securities trading for U.S. investors, as introduced by Boustead, is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2023.
A global trading platform & leading investment bank
Boustead is a leading full-service investment banking firm that executes and advises on IPOs, dual listings, mergers and acquisitions, capital raises, and restructuring assignments in a wide array of industries, geographies, and transactions, for a broad client base.
Upstream, a MERJ Exchange market is a global retail trading platform powered by Horizon Fintex’s blockchain technology. Upstream offers investors access to dual-listed companies that trade on NASDAQ, NYSE, and over-the-counter (OTC) markets as well as international stock exchanges including EURONEXT, ASX, NSX, TSX, and CSE. Investors can trade U.S. and international equities using digital payment rails, credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, or USD.
The Upstream and Boustead partnership opens-up inter-exchange arbitrage trading for investors for dual-listed securities. Traders may buy shares on the U.S. market, and seamlessly deposit them on Upstream for secondary sale. Similarly, investors may buy on Upstream, and seamlessly withdraw back to the U.S. for secondary sale.
Boustead Securities’ CEO, Keith Moore, stated, “We believe in giving our customers access to global markets that provide access to innovative issuers and access to dual listed securities that have protections against manipulative and predatory trading practices that sometimes occur on other markets. By introducing our customers and issuers to Upstream, we can offer our customers the ability to evaluate the best price discovery and trade 20 hours a day.”
Dual listing on Upstream brings price discovery at a trading venue that operates a transparent, blockchain-powered order book where everyone sees level-2 bids and offers. Upstream removes unnecessary middlemen and does not allow manipulative activities like short selling, stock lending, wash trading, layering, or spoofing, which negatively impact legitimate price discovery. Upstream traders experience real-time execution, 20 hours a day, 5 days a week, instant settlement, no institutional market makers, and no payment for order flow.
“We are excited to have Boustead, a leader in small-cap underwritings and offerings, to become the first U.S. broker-dealer to join our market,” commented Brian Collins, Co-founder of Upstream. “Boustead will now have alternative and dual listing venues available for Boustead’s issuers and for their customers to trade on a modern retail trading venue.”
Disclaimers:
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation is not permitted. Upstream and issuers do not charge for share transfers, however, transfer agents may charge investors for share transfers. Such fees are standard in the industry and if a fee is required, the transfer agent will alert the investor of such charges and how to pay via credit card, check, or wire.
NFTs have no royalties, equity ownership, or dividends. NFTs are for utility, collection, redemption, or display purposes only. Anyone may buy and sell NFTs on Upstream.
U.S. or Canadian-based citizen or permanent are not currently able to deposit, buy, or sell securities on Upstream at this time without being introduced by a licensed broker dealer. Note that U.S. or Canadian-based investors include those U.S. or Canadian citizens who may be domiciled overseas.
Upstream is a MERJ Exchange market. MERJ Exchange is a licensed Securities Exchange, an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges, a National Numbering Agency and 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 practices and principles of operations of financial markets. Digital securities on Upstream are interchangeable with Company’s currently issued common stock on terms that have the same meaning. Digital securities are a digital representation of the company’s common stock that have been issued and registered in their own jurisdiction. Upstream and Boustead do 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 services offered by Upstream are intended for self-directed clients who make their own investment decisions without aid or assistance from Upstream. Any trade you decide to make must be based on your own investing judgement. Before making any investment in an Upstream-listed security, an investor should consider, for each investment, their investment objectives, and characteristics, liquidity risks and potential benefits, volatility, and likely performance in a variety of market and economic conditions pertinent to whatever security they are considering investing in. 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 as compliance with applicable quantitative and qualitative listing standards.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements.” Such statements may be preceded by the words “intends,” “may,” “will,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “predicts,” “estimates,” “aims,” “believes,” “hopes,” “potential,” or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions, and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, and cannot be predicted or quantified, and, consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) difficulties in obtaining financing on commercially reasonable terms; (ii) changes in the size and nature of our competition; (iii) loss of one or more key executives or brand ambassadors; and (iv) changes in legal or regulatory requirements in the markets in which we operate. Investors are encouraged to take note that, as in all dual listed securities that are traded on multiple marketplaces, there may be differences in pricing as a result of different liquidity, price discovery and other factors. Trading dual listed securities across multiple exchanges may expose investors to various risks, including differences in trading hours, settlement, trading rules and regulations. Investors who are considering trading dual listed shares on Upstream should carefully evaluate these and other risks and consult with financial and legal advisors before making any investment decisions. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.