Bitfinex securities begins in El Salvador, plans US growth

Bitfinex Securities expects a big demand for digital investment services after the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.

Bitfinex Securities, the tokenized securities trading platform by Bitfinex exchange, is launching in El Salvador months after receiving a digital asset service provider license under the country’s Digital Assets Issuance Law in April 2023.

Following El Salvador’s government finalizing key regulations and infrastructure around the digital asset regime last year, Bitfinex Securities is officially launching its platform.

Announcing the news on Jan. 31, Bitfinex Securities pointed out that the firm expects significant demand for regulated digital investment services in the aftermath of the first spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETF) finally starting trading in the United States.

“We feel that institutional interest in Bitcoin and Bitcoin-based securities, particularly following the launch of the U.S. spot ETFs,” Bitfinex Securities’ head of operations Jesse Knutson told Cointelegraph. The platform also expects increased interest in tokenized securities and real-world assets, the exec said.

With the new launch, Bitfinex Securities plans to introduce a pipeline of various products including equity and bond-like issuances that we expect to announce in the next few months. “We are encouraged to see a mix of both domestic and international issuers in our pipeline,” Knutson said.

Bitfinex Securities’s launch in El Salvador also aims to help the exchange expand its presence in Central and South America, Knutson noted. He added that the platform has been available to institutional and individual investors worldwide, with the exception of sanctioned jurisdictions.

According to Knutson, El Salvador has significantly progressed since adopting Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021.

Related: El Salvador passes law offering citizenship to Bitcoin investors: Report

“El Salvador’s financial performance has also exceeded regional peers and expectations since Q4 2021 which in part has been supported by Bitcoin-driven investment and tourism into El Salvador,” the exec said, adding:

“Lightning Network capacity has shown continued resilience despite Bitcoin price volatility over the previous two years and continues to fluctuate around all-time highs. We think this is in part due to growing adoption in El Salvador.”

As previously reported, Bitfinex Securities debuted trading in Kazakhstan in March 2022 under supervision of Kazakhstan’s national financial hub, known as the Astana International Financial Center. The platform started trading with the Blockstream Mining Note (BMN), a security token offering qualified non-U.S. investors an option to mine Bitcoin or invest in BTC mining stocks.

The platform has seen a slow adoption over the past few months, reportedly not seeing a single trade in two months.