Bitfinex Securities El Salvador has been granted El Salvador’s first-ever digital assets license, marking an historic victory for financial freedom in Latin America and beyond.
Officially approved today by El Salvador’s National Digital Asset Commission, the new license enables Bitfinex Securities El Salvador S.A. de C.V. to facilitate the issuance and trading of innovative real-world tokenized assets such as equities and bonds. This milestone is in line with Bitfinex’s long-term strategy to deliver financial freedom and inclusion to communities and countries around the world, as outlined in the Bitfinex Freedom Manifesto.
“We are delighted to be the first company awarded this license,” said Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer of Bitfinex. “It will enable us to facilitate the issuance and secondary trading of assets with clearly defined rights and obligations as outlined in the new digital asset regulatory regime.”
“This means that a whole range of entities, from small companies to governments, can now raise capital in a regulated environment, and tap into a class of investors extremely comfortable with crypto assets and tokenized securities, which represents a market of over $1 trillion with potential for $3 trillion,” Ardoino added.
El Salvador’s Digital Assets Issuance Law, passed by the National Congress in January 2023, aims to foster increased financial innovation and growth in the country. As the world’s first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, El Salvador is building on this foundation to enable a more inclusive and accessible financial system for both domestic and foreign companies, as well as retail and institutional investors.
Companies worldwide can now issue a broad range of digital assets through Bitfinex Securities El Salvador, S.A. De C.V., ensuring full regulatory compliance under El Salvador law. This represents a unique opportunity for businesses and individuals to benefit from issuing, investing in and trading digital assets under El Salvador’s favorable regulatory framework and substantial cost savings versus traditional capital markets.
“El Salvador’s digital asset regulatory regime creates an attractive environment for companies to relocate key operations, tapping into cost efficiencies, reduced complexity and enhanced flexibility,” said Ardoino.
Bitfinex Securities El Salvador will operate separately from Bitfinex Securities AIFC, operated by Bitfinex Securities Limited. Established in 2021, Bitfinex Securities AIFC is a 24/7 digital asset platform within Astana’s regulatory sandbox, allowing underserved companies and potentially entire countries to access new funding sources while widening investor access to blockchain-based equities, bonds and other innovative products.
Earlier this year, Bitfinex Securities AIFC announced expanding its global presence with a new hub in Kazakhstan, attracting interest due to its forward-thinking regulatory approach.
“We see strong demand from issuers and investors for products enabled under new regulations, including tokenized shares, yield-bearing assets, and other investments,” said Jesse Knutson, Head of Operations at Bitfinex Securities. “Issuers want to access the $1 trillion digital asset market, leveraging speed, low costs and ease of issuance versus traditional assets. The market is growing tremendously quickly.”
Bitfinex Securities has confirmed a robust pipeline of small and large issuances for announcement this year.
Bitfinex sees major innovation opportunities through El Salvador’s progressive approach to regulation. In addition to tokenized securities, the new license will facilitate yield-bearing digital assets, real estate tokens, and other innovative product types.
“The potential for tokenization across asset classes is huge,” commented Knutson. “We’re excited enabling capital raises through tokenized real estate, IP, trade receivables and more. Possibilities are endless under El Salvador’s forward-thinking framework.”
Beyond capital raising, Bitfinex Securities El Salvador provides investors access to a wider range of opportunities than traditional finance, including equities, high-yielding debt, volatile or illiquid assets with substantial return potential.
“Many investors are exploring digital assets and DeFi for the first time, so regulated on-ramps to new asset classes are critical,” said Ardoino. “Our platform serves as a gateway, enabling discovery of opportunities otherwise missed.”
Bitfinex sees El Salvador as a gateway to expanding across Latin America and beyond. Subject to regulatory approval, Bitfinex aims to establish additional securities entities in neighboring jurisdictions and regions promoting financial inclusion and innovation.
“El Salvador has proved itself a pioneer, and we hope its example inspires progressive changes to regulations worldwide,” said Bitfinex CEO Jean-Loup Richet. “There is huge potential transforming lives through access to new financial products and services. We are determined to contribute, partnering with forward-thinking regulators and enterprises.”
In summary, the license granted Bitfinex Securities El Salvador marks a historic milestone for Bitfinex and the movement toward more open, accessible and innovative financial systems globally. Bitfinex remains deeply committed to this mission and delivering tokenization and DeFi benefits to communities worldwide seeking greater financial freedom and opportunity.
For more information on Bitfinex, groundbreaking Bitfinex Securities platforms and commitment to financial freedom, please visit www.bitfinex.com/manifesto.
To learn more about Bitfinex Securities, visit https://www.bitfinex.com/securities/.
About Bitfinex
Founded in 2012, Bitfinex is a digital token trading platform offering state-of-the-art services for digital currency traders and global liquidity providers. In addition to a suite of advanced trading features and charting tools, Bitfinex provides access to peer-to-peer financing, an OTC market, and financed trading for a wide selection of digital tokens. Bitfinex’s strategy focuses on providing unparalleled support, tools, and innovation for professional traders and liquidity providers around the world. Visit www.bitfinex.com to learn more.
About Bitfinex Securities
Bitfinex Securities Ltd. offers traders and issuers a regulated, efficient and global solution to raise capital through tokenized company shares and have them publicly admitted to trading.
