How to Use Instant Access

Secure, compliant peer-to-peer digital securities transactions

We are very proud to introduce a powerful new feature, Instant Access. Made possible by Securitize’s best-in-class DS Protocol, Instant Access gives investors the ability to transact in digital securities in ways never before possible.

Instant Access allows investors to privately create an indication of interest to sell their digital securities with a simple web link. That link can be posted and shared with anyone, anytime, on any platform they prefer, including via email or text message.

There are no fees associated with using Instant Access to create or accept transfers. The only costs come from processing the transaction on the Ethereum blockchain. These costs (known as “gas costs”) are unrelated to the value of the securities being transferred. Neither Securitize nor any other party will be paid fees for these transactions.

Important Note: Instant Access must be enabled by an issuer and will only be accessible on the issuer's private website, not through Securitize's website. Once an issuer decides to enable the Instant Access feature, any potential buyer who has KYC/AML approval from, and is registered with the issuer, can purchase the digital security from the holder if the holder has shared the transaction link with them. Only transactions that meet these KYC/AML requirements and adhere to any applicable transfer restrictions imposed by the issuer via the DS Protocol will be permitted.

Here is how Instant Access works and how you can begin initiating transactions using Instant Access

We will illustrate using a fictional company called, Voloro Labs. Imagine we have an investor, Anne, who wants to sell one V0LR2 token, which represents equity in the company Voloro Labs, for $2 to her friend, Bob.

In our example, Voloro Labs has enabled the new Instant Access feature, making it possible for Anne to initiate the transaction.

In this example, Voloro Labs has its securities listed on secondary marketplaces OpenFinance Network, and SharesPost, which are also visible on Anne’s dashboard.

No Counter Party Risk

Instant Access solves the counter-party risk on personal peer-to-peer transactions of securities by ensuring that when a trade is arranged between a seller and the buyer, the buyer cannot receive the securities without paying the corresponding amount to the seller.

This is known as an atomic swap in blockchain terminology and it ensures that both tokens — the one representing the underlying securities and the one representing the corresponding payment (e.g., a stable coin like USDC or DAI) — complete the transaction or that the transaction does not happen at all.

This new tool solves this issue by allowing an investor to indicate their interest to sell their digital securities in the form of a web link. This web link can be shared with the person they want to do the trade with by any means available, like sending an email, using a text message, or simply “Airdropping” the URL to the other person’s phone.

Securitize’s DS Protocol will ensure that the trade complies with relevant laws, while the atomic swap smart contract guarantees that the exchange is produced in an indivisible way. Thanks to this technology, It is not possible for the buyer to not receive the tokens nor is it possible for the seller to not receive its consideration for the transfer.

Creating the transfer

Here is how our investor, Anne, will create and execute the transfer of one V0LR2 token to (Bob) in exchange for two $2USD:

• From her Voloro Labs investor dashboard, Anne can access the “Instant Access” tool and create an order for a specific trade. She selects the number of V0LR2 tokens she wants to sell and what she wants in exchange. In this example, she will send 1 V0LR2 token and then receive 2 USDC (a token that directly represents US dollars). The order can be restricted such that it is only able to be accepted by a specific counter-party (defined by their wallet address), but Anne isn’t sure of Bob’s wallet address so she leaves the order open (public order). The order can also have an expiration time, which Anne sets to 1 hour to ensure that it is not cleared at a point in the future in which the $2 price may no longer be appealing.

• Anne must sign the order to confirm it, basically giving authorization for the order to be taken within the expiry time provided. She does this by hitting the “Create” button, which will guide her to connect her wallet. To use the Instant Access tool, the traded securities must be held in a compatible wallet, such as Coinbase Wallet, MetaMask, or a Ledger hardware wallet. Anne is holding her Voloro tokens on the Coinbase Wallet app, so she connects that one.

• If this is the first time that Anne is using the Instant Access tool, it will also get a prompt to approve a transaction for the AirSwap Trader smart contract to take tokens from her wallet. This is only required once, and the authorization is managed so that it will only be effective when specific orders have also been signed by the investor.

• In both cases Anne is guided by the tool to sign the appropriate transaction and order on her mobile using Coinbase Wallet.

• Once Anne has signed the order, it is ready to be shared, using the generated web link, so she copies it and sends it to Bob via WhatsApp for him to complete the process.

Taking the order

Bob receives the link via WhatsApp, and can access it to review the trade details and choose whether to take it.

But in order to accept it some conditions must apply:

• Bob needs to use a wallet that has been recognized by the issuer (and if Anne had set a counter-party wallet when creating the wallet, that must be the specific address to use). As we have discussed in previous posts, digital securities require certain controls that involve proper KYC (“know-your-client”) process for holders. If Bob’s wallet has not been approved yet, the Instant Access tool will guide him to the process so he can be KYC’d and, assuming the issuer passes Bob, authorize his wallet. (for those more technically inclined, this involves using the method in the DS Token, which the Instant Access tool has integrated).

• That same wallet must have enough funds to cover the trade. In the example we have been following, Bob should have at least the 2 USDC in his wallet to be able to pay for the 1 V0LR2 token. Otherwise, the trade cannot be settled, and the atomic swap mechanism of the smart contract will prevent any asset changing hands. In that scenario, Anne will not get the 2 USDC she asked for, but neither will Bob get the 1 V0LR2 token. Also, if from the moment the trade was created by Anne the 1 V0LR2 token has been moved and is no longer available (which is possible as the order may have been open for days), the smart contract will also invalidate the trade. So it is not possible that the securities or the payment exchange hands without the other side of the trade exchanging hands as well. This makes this tool a secure way to transfer securities with no counter-party risk.

But in our example, all these conditions are met, and Bob can also sign his side of the order (in the same way Anne did it before, with any of the approved wallets) which will execute the transfer.

The transfer is processed by the Ethereum blockchain and can be verified in a block explorer that will reflect how both assets have been exchanged in a single transaction. This is how this transaction looks in Etherscan:

We can see how the 2 USDC and 1 V0LR2 token moved in opposite directions in an atomic way.

The security and ease of use of Instant Access to trade digital securities brings new liquidity options to issuers and their investors without compromising safety, security, and compliance. Instant Access is just the latest tool made possible by digital securities and Securitize’s DS Protocol. We look forward to hearing feedback and improving this new feature as we continue to develop powerful solutions for digital securities.