Bitfinex launches the first tokenized USA bonds in El Salvador

Bitfinex Securities, the capital raising division of the Bitfinex exchange, has just announced the launch of tokenized US Treasury Securities in El Salvador.

This is a regulated public offering that aims to provide exposure to US bonds for citizens of Latin America, with access in crypto.

The goal is to raise a minimum of 30 million dollars before actually launching the token.

Let’s see all the details below.

Bitfinex ready to revolutionize the financial market in El Salvador with tokenized US Treasury securities

Today the well-known platform Bitfinex Securities revealed the first regulated public offering of tokenized US Treasury securities in El Salvador.

The division of the crypto exchange, already known for other similar tokenization initiatives, is officially ready to bring new investment products to Latin America.

Together with NexBridge Digital Financial Solution, an issuer of digital assets based in El Salvador, it will provide investors with exposure to the US bond market.

The advantage of these new products is that they can be traded directly in crypto, using Tether (USDT) or Bitcoin (BTC).

The interest accrued by the clients is denominated in USD, offering a stable countermeasure to the inflation of the Salvadoran fiat currency.

The proceeds from the issuance will be allocated to the iShares $ Treasury Bond 0-1yr UCITS ETF.

Bitfinex aims to raise 30 million dollars as a minimum base to proceed with the issuance of the tokenized asset (RWA).

The offer will begin today, November 19, 2024, and will end on November 29, with possible additional future entry windows.

Regarding the news, Jesse Knutson, head of operations at Bitfinex Securities, stated the following:

“Bitfinex Securities is proud to collaborate with NexBridge on the first regulated public offering of tokenized U.S. Treasury bills in El Salvador. This issuance represents a significant step forward in financial technology by combining the security of government-backed securities with the adaptability and efficiency of digital.”

From the end of November, Bitfinex Securities will open trading for the USTBL token

At the end of the initial subscription period, Bitfinex Securities will allow users from El Salvador to trade the tokenized bond directly from its platform.

The token in question, released with the ticker USTBL, will be tradable on the secondary market of Bitfinex using the stablecoin USDT as onboarding.

This is an innovative digital solution that combines the stability of US Treasury returns with the transparency and efficiency of blockchain technology.

The launch of this product by Bitfinex underscores the company’s commitment to expanding access to investments in countries like El Salvador.

Thanks to USTBL, now anyone can gain exposure to US Treasury Bonds, obtaining a safe and guaranteed yield.

The Central American nation, which first introduced its securities law in January 2023, has been eyed by Bitfinex Securities.

The company was indeed the first to receive a license for digital resources in this framework, then committing to launch several cryptographic assets.

Referring back to what was previously stated by the head of operations at Bitfinex, the CEO of NexBridge Nicolas Cane stated that:

“This issuance is just the beginning of our mission to build a financial ecosystem based on blockchain. By bringing U.S. Treasury Bonds on-chain, we are not only offering a secure and compliant investment opportunity, but we are also laying the groundwork for a new standard in finance. Our vision is to create an interconnected environment where traditional assets and blockchain technology seamlessly come together.”

Everyone is crazy about tokenized securities and the RWA sector

The opening of Bitfinex Securities to tokenized US Treasury securities in El Salvador highlights the growing interest of investors towards the mondo RWA.

We are not only talking about bonds, but also about stocks, investment funds, houses, and properties: in short, any real-world asset that can be tokenized.

These particular investment products offer the possibility to access a wide range of financial (and non-financial) services, improving their efficiency.

Furthermore, they increase the flow of liquidity while simultaneously reducing operational and settlement frictions, for a more optimal management of resources.

Bitfinex is just one of the many companies to have launched its own RWA offerings to the public.

Companies of the caliber of Santander Group, J.P. Morgan, Coinbase, and European Investment Bank had already realized the potential of tokenization for several years.

Santander, for example, issued a tokenized bond on Ethereum in 2019, while Coinbase in the same year launched its own digital custody service.

Even the investment giant BlackRock has decided to take the path of RWAs, launching the BUIDL fund in March of this year.

A few months later, “BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund” (BUIDL) is already the tokenized treasury instrument with the most capital, amounting to 540 million dollars.

Franklin Templeton, Ondo Finance e Hashnote have followed this trend and have developed various institutional tools and/or U.S Treasury. 

At the moment, the tokenization market is worth a total of 13.2 billion dollars.