TokePortal.com is a CSP operating under the supervision of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) in the European Union, located at 215/1, Old Bakery Street, Valletta VLT 1451, Malta. It is a subsidiary of TokePortal Zrt. (1095 Budapest, Soroksári u. 48). TokePortal Zrt. was founded in 2017 by economist and capital market expert Nóra Szeles and economist, mathematician, and IT entrepreneur János Rovnyai, in anticipation of the adoption of the ECSPR regulation, the draft of which was published by the European Parliament in March 2018. Their first investor was MKB Inkubátor Zrt. (Fintechlab). Since then, many angel investors have joined the venture. Until November 10, 2023, in compliance with the regulatory deadline, when only licensed CSPs could launch crowdfunding campaigns, TokePortal operated within domestic legal frameworks, raising more than €2.5M in capital for Hungarian small businesses. Utilizing the rights granted by the ECSPR regulation, TokePortal chose Malta’s larger financial ecosystem for its headquarters and received its operational license there on March 11, 2024. Subsequently, its founders registered TokePortal.com Ltd. in Malta, in which Zrt. acquired a 100% ownership stake. TokePortal.com Ltd., with this license, launches campaigns. The activities between the two entities are regulated by an outsourcing agreement, and they are collectively referred to as TokePortal in marketing and educational materials. The official language is English, but all customer-facing documents, including KIIS, are also published in Hungarian in official translations.
Strategically, TokePortal aims to expand regionally in Central and Southern Europe, as the ECSPR allows for cross-border operation (passporting), allowing for providing crowdfunding services to clients in any member states. TokePortal develops and operates the platform at www.tokeportal.com, where approved Campaign Documents can be published by the Campaign Owner, along with other information. Investors can create verified investor profiles online through the platform (see) and make Declarations of Commitments to Purchase Shares, i.e., invest in Campaigns, in exchange for shares or other dematerialized, transferable securities issued by the Campaign Owner in successful campaigns, provided the Investors have a suitable securities account (see).
TokePortal’s Responsibilities:
TokePortal exclusively operates the online platform at http://tokeportal.com, managing campaigns carefully in accordance with its General Terms and Conditions of Use (GTC) and its appendices, and reviewing the completeness of the KIIS, which describes the investment conditions of the Campaigns. It evaluates incoming campaign launch requests, reviews their content from an investment perspective, and only approves and processes campaign launch requests from registered businesses that are collecting capital through closed joint-stock company forms or, in their absence, through SPVs (see). TokePortal ensures Campaign Owners provide real data and realistic business plans during the Campaign, but it does not take responsibility for the content or the data published, including the annual 5 million euro capital raising limit. The Campaign Owner is responsible for the legal and corporate procedures related to capital raising and the creation of shares and securities, but TokePortal assists in these processes upon request. After successful issuance, it supports secondary trading by forwarding buying and selling offers received and it helps with facilitating the Campaign Owner to report quarterly on the business goals promised in the campaign for 3 years after the capital disbursement. TokePortal plans to introduce more licensed services in the future, which will be communicated through its newsletters and events.
TokePortal does not manage capital, handle escrow, or trade money. The deposits requested during campaigns, and the remaining capital in successful campaign closures, should be transferred by the Investors to a Custodian Account managed by the Campaign Owner, which can only be operated by a service provider approved by TokePortal, allowing access to the deposit only with TokePortal’s consent. The conditions undertaken by the Campaign Owner are included in the Campaign Documentation.
Therefore, TokePortal.com is an online capital marketplace, concentrating demand (campaigns) and supply (investors’ capial), publishing information effectively and in compliance with relevant laws, but it does not pair offers (unlike a stock exchange), thus not qualifying as a so-called regulated market, but more akin to an online store or “project webshop.”
TokePortal serves Campaign Owners and protects the interests of Investors. It communicates with Investors through newsletters and contact points specified in the GTC (chat, email, messenger, social media platforms). Any complaints are handled according to the Rules of Complaint Handling (CH)available in the GTC appendix. Investors are obliged to read information and utilize their right to ask questions; thus, unsubscribing from newsletters is not advisable. Individual notifications to Campaign Owners and Investors (such as mandatory data reconciliation or payment calls, or possible giveaway notifications and other marketing notifications) are placed in the Investor profile’s uploaded documents. Recipients receive an email notification about the upload, and it is considered delivered. Investors have the right to ask questions on the Campaign page’s Forum, where the Campaign Owner is obliged to respond thoroughly in a timely manner, facilitated by TokePortal if necessary.