Backed Finance

Backed Finance AG, a Swiss-based entity, is strategically positioned at the intersection of traditional finance and the burgeoning decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape. The firm specializes in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), issuing ERC-20 tokens that mirror the value of securities like stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This process effectively brings traditional financial instruments onto the blockchain, enhancing their utility and accessibility. The company was founded in 2021 by Adam Efrima, Giorgio Giuliani, and Yannick Warnier, who brought together their collective expertise from the worlds of both traditional and decentralized finance to address the market's need for compliant, institutional-grade tokenized products.

The core of Backed Finance's business model is providing fully collateralized, regulated, and bankruptcy-remote tokenized assets. Each token issued is backed 1:1 by the corresponding real-world asset, which is held in custody by a licensed Swiss institution, ensuring transparency and security for token holders. This structure is designed to appeal to a clientele of institutional investors, crypto platforms, Web3 protocols, and DAOs seeking compliant exposure to traditional assets within the on-chain ecosystem. Operations are conducted in adherence to the Swiss Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Act, providing a robust legal framework for their offerings. The company's product, bTokens, can be freely transferred across wallets and integrated into various DeFi applications, including borrowing, lending, and derivatives protocols, thereby unlocking new use cases for traditional assets. A key differentiator is the firm's focus on regulatory compliance, which includes conducting know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks on all clients who wish to mint or redeem the tokens directly, although the tokens can be acquired on the secondary market without these direct checks.

Backed Finance has achieved significant milestones, including securing a CHF 9.5 million funding round led by Gnosis, a prominent player in the Ethereum ecosystem. This capital infusion is intended to expand their range of tokenized products. The company has already successfully launched several products, such as bIB01, a token tracking the iShares Treasury Bond 0-1yr UCITS ETF, and bCSPX, which tracks the iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF. These products serve the growing demand for on-chain yield-bearing instruments and exposure to major market indices. By bridging the gap between TradFi and DeFi, Backed Finance is facilitating a more integrated and efficient global financial system, allowing market participants to leverage the benefits of both worlds.

Keywords: real-world asset tokenization, RWA, decentralized finance, DeFi, blockchain, tokenized securities, ERC-20 tokens, Swiss DLT Act, institutional crypto, on-chain assets