Backed Finance raises $9.5 million in Series A funding round to accelerate tokenization for institutional clients

Backed Finance AG, a prominent issuer of tokenized real-world assets, has completed a $9.5 million Series A funding round. The company plans to use the funds to enhance its private tokenization services, aiming to onboard asset managers to blockchain solutions.

The round was led by Gnosis, with the participation of new and existing investors, including Exor Seeds, Cyber Fund, Mindset Ventures, Stake Capital Ventures, Blockchain Founders Fund, Blue Bay Capital, and Nonce Classic, Backed Finance shared in a press release.

“We are thrilled to have secured this significant investment round, with strong participation from both new and existing investors. This funding is a testament to the potential of tokenization, and will allow us to build new products suited to the needs of institutional clients,” Adam Levi, Co-founder at Backed, expressed his enthusiasm.

The investment highlights the increasing traction of Backed’s mission to integrate traditional finance (TradFi) with blockchain technology.

Youbin Kang, CEO of Nonce Classic, commented on the market’s fragmentation and Backed’s solution. He said:

“Global financial markets are fragmented, hindering accessibility and efficiency. Backed aims to solve these issues by bringing RWAs on-chain. With deep expertise in regulation, technology, and crypto, Backed is poised to lead tokenization innovation in both TradFi and DeFi.”

Walt Smith, Investor at cyber•Fund, also remarked on the transformative potential of tokenization, saying:

“Compliant tokenization on credibly neutral networks like Ethereum marks the end of these issues and the beginning of a new era of digital, global commerce.”

Originally launched on Ethereum, Backed has since expanded its ecosystem to include several networks such as BNB Chain, Polygon, Gnosis, Avalanche, Fantom, Arbitrum, Chainlink, and Base.

Backed recently launched a suite of tokenization services tailored for financial institutions, allowing them to issue tokenized assets securely and efficiently. Their bTokens are designed for composability and interoperability, serving as collateral for stablecoins and in yield vaults, exemplifying the practical applications of tokenization in the current financial landscape.

Tokenization, originally celebrated as a fundamental application of blockchain technology, has emerged as one of this year’s most prominent trends. This process involves transforming real-world assets into digital tokens, thereby enhancing accessibility to investment opportunities.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, in a CNBC interview last year, suggested that a tokenized system could eradicate all forms of corruption. He also views the introduction of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs as crucial steps towards tokenization.