Tether, KraneShares, Bitfinex Partner on Tokenized Securities

The strategic agreement announced on November 6, 2025, brings together three distinct but complementary capabilities in the financial ecosystem. Hadron by Tether provides the technological backbone for secure and scalable tokenized asset markets, while Bitfinex Securities contributes regulatory and operational capabilities through its licensed platform under El Salvador’s National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD). KraneShares, known for managing the largest US-listed China-focused ETF, brings deep exchange-traded product expertise and global distribution channels to the partnership.

According to Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, this collaboration reflects Tether and Bitfinex Securities’ commitment to supporting the evolution of capital markets. “Working with KraneShares enables us to connect traditional investment products with next-generation financial infrastructure,” Ardoino stated. The partnership aims to evaluate institutional demand, validate tokenized product structures, and advance real-world asset integration through their combined strengths.

The timing of this collaboration aligns with growing institutional recognition of blockchain’s potential to transform capital markets. Gabor Gurbacs, CEO of Hadron by Tether, emphasized the scale of the opportunity: “More than $700 trillion in global financial assets exist today, with over $10 trillion expected to be tokenized by 2030. We are building the infrastructure that will connect those markets to a more efficient and accessible future.”

The partnership arrives as the global tokenized securities market stands at an inflection point, projected to grow from approximately $30 billion in 2025 to nearly $10 trillion by 2030. This staggering growth projection underscores the rapid institutional shift toward on-chain capital formation and represents one of the most significant transformations in modern financial history.

Jesse Knutson, Head of Operations at Bitfinex Securities, highlighted the critical importance of credible secondary markets in realizing tokenization’s full potential. “When investors can trade confidently and regulators have clarity, new classes of capital become accessible,” Knutson explained. “This collaboration with KraneShares reflects an exciting direction of travel, whereby institutional capital is increasingly migrating to tokenized assets as it recognises the value of efficiency, scalability, and innovation.”

For KraneShares, the partnership represents a strategic pivot toward what CEO Jonathan Krane believes will be the future of asset management. “ETFs have already transformed access to global markets, and tokenization has the potential to unlock even greater scale and reach,” Krane stated. “We believe our business in the next three to four years will be 100% tokenized, and this strategic agreement represents an important step toward that future.”

A key enabler of this collaboration is El Salvador’s pioneering digital asset regulatory framework, which provides the legal foundation for Bitfinex Securities’ operations. The platform is licensed by the National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD) in El Salvador, giving it the regulatory clarity needed to offer compliant issuance and trading of digital investment instruments.

The partnership will specifically focus on building on El Salvador’s regulatory framework to expand institutional participation in tokenized markets. This approach acknowledges that regulatory certainty is essential for mainstream adoption, particularly for institutional investors who require clear compliance pathways and investor protections.

As institutional interest in real-world asset tokenization continues to grow, the collaboration creates a strong foundation for product innovation, operational efficiency, and cross-border investor access. By combining Tether’s stablecoin expertise and blockchain infrastructure with KraneShares’ traditional finance distribution and Bitfinex Securities’ regulated trading platform, the partnership addresses multiple barriers to adoption simultaneously.

The collaboration will specifically explore tokenized exchange-traded products, leveraging KraneShares’ expertise in ETF management alongside Hadron by Tether’s tokenization technology and Bitfinex Securities’ secondary trading capabilities. This focus on exchange-traded products represents a natural evolution from traditional ETFs to their tokenized counterparts, potentially offering greater efficiency, transparency, and accessibility.

Hadron by Tether’s platform simplifies the process of converting various assets into digital tokens, including stocks, bonds, commodities, funds, and reward points. The platform offers a range of tools for asset issuance and burning, KYC compliance, blockchain reporting, capital market management, and regulatory guidance—all essential components for institutional-grade tokenized products.

As the financial industry stands at the threshold of this transformation, the partnership between Tether, KraneShares, and Bitfinex Securities represents a significant milestone in the convergence of traditional and digital finance. With the tokenized securities market poised for exponential growth, this collaboration positions the three companies at the forefront of what could become the new standard for global capital markets.