Bitfinex completes licensing in three markets in El Salvador

Bitfinex obtains digital asset service provider license in El Salvador

Bitfinex has obtained a digital asset service provider license in El Salvador, completing a local regulatory structure covering spot trading, cryptocurrency derivatives and tokenized securities.

Summary

Bitfinex currently holds approval from El Salvador, covering spot trading, derivatives and regulated tokenized securities services. The National Digital Assets Commission (CNAD) registered Bitfinex's two core entities in April, incorporating them into the country's existing licensed operating system. El Salvador remains at the heart of Bitfinex's trading and tokenized capital markets strategy in Latin America.

The exchange announced the approval on May 12, after the National Digital Assets Commission registered two Bitfinex-related operating entities on April 23. The new approval brings Bitfinex's core trading platform into regulation, along with Bitfinex Securities El Salvador and Bitfinex Derivatives El Salvador. Bitfinex said the structure gives the group a regulated presence in the country's main businesses, but product access will still depend on customer qualifications, location and platform terms.

Core Bitfinex platform joins regulated local entities

Public registration information from the National Digital Assets Commission of El Salvador shows that both BFXNA El Salvador (registration number PSAD-0082) and BFXWW El Salvador (registration number PSAD-0083) have been registered. Activities covered by these two registrations include: digital asset redemption, operating trading platforms, asset transfer, custody, receiving customer orders, and executing digital asset derivatives transactions. The registration entries took effect before the company publicly announced it in May, and the approval was confirmed through CNAD's database. Bitfinex described the license as a deeper regulatory foundation for serving customers in Latin America.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Bitfinex, said: "Holding licenses covering spot, derivatives and securities businesses reflects our long-standing commitment to El Salvador and our determination to operate under appropriate and innovative regulation." This license does not mean that all Bitfinex products are available to all customers. The company statement stated that U.S. people and other restricted users cannot open or operate accounts on the main platform. Local regulations, customer audits and service restrictions still apply.

Securities and derivatives approval obtained earlier

Bitfinex Securities became the first platform approved under El Salvador's Digital Asset Issuance Law. The registration information of CNAD shows that the registration number of the securities entity is PSAD-0001 and the registration date is October 24, 2023. The platform supports the issuance and trading of tokenized financial products, including debt, equity and fund-related instruments. It was previously reported that Bitfinex Securities subsequently launched a regulated tokenized U.S. Treasury product in El Salvador, which provides exposure to short-term Treasury bills and is traded through the platform's secondary market. Bitfinex also tested tokenized debt associated with a planned hotel project near the country's international airport.

Bitfinex Derivatives subsequently received approval from its own digital asset service provider in January 2025. The licensed entity became the regional base for the group's derivatives business. Reports at the time stated that users who continued to use the service would have to accept revised terms related to operations in El Salvador.

El Salvador builds broader digital asset market

El Salvador passed the Digital Asset Issuance Act in 2023, establishing a framework for token issuance, service providers and regulated trading venues. The National Digital Assets Commission oversees the industry and maintains a public registration list of approved operators, including exchanges, custodians, issuers and companies that provide investment products based on digital assets. Bitfinex said that as of its May announcement, CNAD had approved more than 70 digital asset service providers. The registration list also includes Binance, Bitget and other international companies. These approvals cover different entities and allowed activities, rather than a unified license for each encryption service.

El Salvador has also extended its supervision beyond exchanges. The country has approved an investment banking framework that allows professional institutions to provide Bitcoin and other digital asset services. In addition, the country has also explored tokenization of small business equity and cross-border regulatory projects.

Bitfinex links licensing strategy to tokenization market

Bitfinex has positioned El Salvador as a base for trading and tokenized capital markets. Its securities business has focused on products related to U.S. Treasury bonds, corporate finance and real-world assets. The group is also working with Tether-related infrastructure to study broader distribution of tokenized investments and secondary market liquidity. The latest license provides core exchanges with local authorization in parallel with these existing businesses, while also allowing Bitfinex to use El Salvador as a single jurisdiction covering three different business lines: the spot market through the main platform, the derivatives market through specialized entities, and the securities market through Bitfinex Securities.

However, the announcement did not provide local customer numbers, transaction volume targets or timetables for new products, nor did it say whether operations would be transferred from other jurisdictions to El Salvador. Current changes mainly concern the regulated status of the core platform and its ability to provide approval services through registered local entities. Bitfinex's expansion comes as other crypto companies are establishing operations in El Salvador. Tether announced in 2025 that it plans to base its headquarters in El Salvador after obtaining local approval, while Bitget has obtained both Bitcoin and digital asset service licenses.

This license completes Bitfinex's stated regulatory layout in El Salvador, but continued operations will depend on CNAD's supervision, customer audits and the rules attached to each entity. Future product launches will require separate disclosure and may impose additional eligibility restrictions.