Bitfinex has secured a Digital Asset Service Provider licence in El Salvador, completing a local regulatory structure covering spot trading, crypto derivatives and tokenized securities. According to reports from Crypto.news, the exchange announced the approval on May 12, 2026, after the National Commission of Digital Assets registered two Bitfinex-linked operating entities on April 23, 2023. The new approval brings the core Bitfinex trading platform alongside Bitfinex Securities El Salvador and Bitfinex Derivatives El Salvador, giving the group a regulated presence across its main businesses in the country. Bitfinex described the licence as part of its broader commitment to compliance in the region, noting that El Salvador remains a closely watched jurisdiction for digital asset regulation and Bitcoin adoption.
El Salvador's CNAD public registry lists BFXNA El Salvador under registration PSAD-0082 and BFXWW El Salvador under PSAD-0083. As reported by Crypto.news, both registrations cover activities that include exchanging digital assets, operating trading platforms, transferring assets, custody, receiving client orders and executing trades in digital asset derivatives. The registry entries were active before the company's May public announcement, confirming the approval through CNAD's database. With this latest development, Bitfinex now operates as a regulated entity across spot, derivatives, and securities in El Salvador, completing its comprehensive regulatory coverage in the country.
Bitfinex Securities became the first platform approved under El Salvador's Digital Assets Issuance Law, with CNAD's registry listing the securities entity under PSAD-0001 and a registration date of October 24, 2023. According to Crypto.news, the platform supports the issuance and trading of tokenized financial products, including debt, equity and fund-linked instruments. Bitfinex Derivatives followed with its own Digital Asset Service Provider approval in January 2025, becoming the regional base for the group's derivatives activity. This regulatory framework now allows Bitfinex to offer comprehensive digital asset services across all major categories in El Salvador.
El Salvador's CNAD has licensed more than 70 digital asset service providers by the time of Bitfinex's May announcement, as reported by Crypto.news. The country has also approved an investment banking framework allowing specialized institutions to offer Bitcoin and other digital asset services. Bitfinex has positioned El Salvador as a base for both trading and tokenized capital markets, working on products linked to U.S. Treasuries, corporate financing and real-world assets. The company has also partnered with Tether-related infrastructure to study wider distribution and secondary-market liquidity for tokenized investments. With this regulatory milestone, Bitfinex can now serve customers across Latin America with fully compliant digital asset services.
