The crypto exchange Bittrex has announced that it will list tokenized shares on its platform in cooperation with DigitalAssets.AG. The move will allow traders and investors to invest in U.S.-listed companies without paying additional fees or using traditional brokerage services.
Tokenized shares are a completely new derivative product that represents traditional securities, especially shares of public companies traded on regulated stock exchanges. Such a product was not available before, but advances in representing values on a digital token have paved the way forward.
“Blockchain technology can potentially radically expand access to financial services, and Bittrex Global is very proud to offer people a portal to build their capital and private wealth in a way that was unthinkable ten years ago,” Bittrex CEO Tom Albright said in a statement.
Bittrex will offer over 12 popular stocks, including Tesla, Google, Facebook and SPY, a stock exchange fund consisting of the top 500 U.S. companies. You can buy the shares in US dollars, Tether or Bitcoin and they will be offered day and night.
Similar to how a crypto market works - users can buy a piece of cryptocurrency - the new product will allow customers to buy a piece (as much as $ 10) of a tokenized share. However, the stock market said market liquidity - or the number of buyers and sellers who traded assets at a given time - could vary depending on the time of day.
The tokenized shares themselves derive value from shares held by CM-Equity, a regulated trustee based in Germany. However, they cannot be exchanged for actual stocks at first, but future updates may change that.
Meanwhile, Bittrex said it plans to increase its token offer in the near future to include more financial products, such as ETFs, indices and additional asset classes.
Issuing tokens representing traditional stocks (among other things) has long been a sought-after narrative among crypto circles. But this year fills that gap, Bittrex has joined the crypto exchanges FTX and Bitfinex, which also launched their own tokenized stocks and index products in early 2020.
This news is interesting for this trading platform. By the way, Tesla, do you mean a company that produces mobile phones, televisions and white goods?