INX and Backed Broaden Tokenized Stock Options for International Investors
INX, a marketplace for security tokens and tokenized real-world assets (RWA), has partnered with Backed, a well-known RWA platform, to expand its offerings for eligible non-US users. This collaboration aligns with the growing trend of digitizing financial assets and provides more diverse trading opportunities for international investors.
The expansion was announced by INX on September 22, 2024, through their official Twitter account. They hinted at something new being uploaded on-chain, urging followers to stay tuned and using hashtags such as #inx, #rwa, #realworldassets, #token, #tokenization, #blockchaintechnology, #onchain, and #staytuned.
One of the major developments resulting from this partnership is that eligible non-US investors can now trade tokenized versions of popular stocks, including Tesla (bTSLA), Microsoft (bMSFT), Google (bGOOGL), and GameStop (bGME) shares. These tokenized shares were created in compliance with European Union securities laws, tokenized on Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain, and are backed 1:1 by the actual stocks.
INX has plans to further expand its offerings in the coming weeks. They will introduce the first tokenized exchange-traded fund (ETF), the S&P 500 ETF (bCSPX), along with tokenized shares of Apple (bAAPL) and BlackRock’s iShares Treasury ETF (bIB01). This expansion allows investors to trade a wide range of securities round the clock, bypassing the limitations of traditional stock market hours. Additionally, investors can fund their accounts using cryptocurrency.
Shy Datika, the CEO of INX, expressed excitement about the partnership with Backed and the addition of new tokenized stocks to their trading platform. He emphasized their mission to enable the trading of real-world asset tokens and their commitment to advancing the accessibility and efficiency of the tokenized asset market.
Adam Levi, Co-Founder of Backed, highlighted the broader implications of this partnership, stating that they are offering investors a wider range of tokenized assets to build their portfolios. He believes that this convergence of traditional assets and digital markets on the blockchain is the future of finance.
Colin Butler, Global Head of Institutional Capital at Polygon Labs, emphasized the democratization of financial assets that public, open-source blockchains offer. He mentioned that this collaboration, built on Polygon’s PoS blockchain, provides accessibility for individuals who previously lacked access to basic investment and savings options.
With the addition of new tokenized stocks and expanding offerings, INX and Backed provide several benefits to investors. These include fractional ownership, 24/7 trading, and enhanced security. The assets are issued under an EU prospectus and are backed by licensed custodians. Investors maintain control of their securities through self-custody, allowing them to hold assets directly in their own wallets.