Robert Leshner, CEO of Compound, a decentralized lender, has recently submitted filings to U.S. securities regulators for a new company called “Superstate.” The purpose of this company is to establish a short-term government bond fund, utilizing the Ethereum blockchain as a secondary record-keeping tool.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 26, Superstate’s fund will invest in various types of “ultra-short duration government securities,” such as U.S. Treasury bonds, government agency securities, and other government-backed instruments.
To ensure accurate ownership records, the fund will rely on a traditional Wall Street “transfer agent.” However, the filing suggests that ownership of specific fund shares will also be recorded on one or more blockchains, initially utilizing the Ethereum blockchain in the form of the Secondary Blockchain Records.
According to the filing, the company believes that integrating a blockchain-based recordkeeping system may provide operational efficiencies and enhance the shareholder experience, without compromising the quality of services provided by the fund’s transfer agent. Looking ahead, the fund shares may become available for peer-to-peer transactions on a blockchain, enabling shareholders to buy, sell, or transfer shares directly. In this case, the transfer agent’s official record would be routinely reconciled and matched with the Secondary Blockchain Records to facilitate these peer-to-peer transfers.
Superstate Inc., a separate entity connected to the project, also filed a document on June 16, indicating its intention to sell up to $3.75 million of securities classified as “option, warrant or other right to acquire another security.”
Expressing his excitement about this development, Robert Leshner took to Twitter and stated that this is just the beginning of a long journey to upgrade financial markets. He believes that in the future, trillions of offline assets will be migrated to blockchains. The ultimate goal is to facilitate this migration and enable the smooth integration of offline assets into blockchain systems.
Overall, Robert Leshner’s filing for Superstate marks a significant step in the direction of using blockchain technology in traditional finance. While Superstate’s initial focus will be on an Ethereum-based record-keeping system, the vision extends to embracing a wider range of offline assets and migrating them onto blockchains.