Social trading and brokerage company eToro’s blockchain division, eToroX, announced the launch of a cryptocurrency exchange and the release of eight stablecoins on April 16. The exchange will initially list six cryptocurrencies including the top five by market capitalization: bitcoin, ether, XRP, bitcoin cash, and litecoin, as well as 13th-ranked dash.
The Israeli company says the eToroX exchange is incorporated in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar and is one of the first companies to be certified as a regulated distributed ledger technology (DLT) provider by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC).
“Just as eToro has opened up traditional markets for investors, we want to do the same in the tokenized world,” said Yoni Assia, co-founder and CEO of eToro, in the company’s press release. “We want to bring crypto and tokenized assets to a wider audience, allowing them to trade with confidence.”
The exchange is also launching eight fiat-denominated stablecoins: eToro New Zealand dollar (NZDX), eToro Japanese yen (JPYX), eToro Swiss franc (CHFX), eToro United States dollar (USDEX), eToro euro (EURX), eToro pound sterling (GBPX), eToro Australian dollar (AUDX), and the eToro Canadian dollar (CADX). It will also have 37 fiat-to-crypto pairs such as bitcoin to U.S. dollar (USD) and XRP to the pound sterling (GBP)
“In the coming weeks and months, we will add more cryptoassets, stablecoins, and tokens to the exchange and will work with other exchanges to encourage them to list our growing range of stablecoins,” said Doron Rosenblum, managing director of eToroX.
In March, eToroX announced that users of its eToro Wallet would be able to purchase supported cryptocurrencies directly with fiat currency from within the wallet. The eToro social trading feature allows clients to use its CopyTrader system to follow and replicate, in real time, the financial trading activities of other clients.
Calling tokenization of assets “the future of finance,” Assia said. “We believe that we will see the greatest transfer of wealth ever as financial services move onto the blockchain. The blockchain brings transparency and a new paradigm for asset ownership. In time, we will see the tokenization of all traditional asset classes, as well as the emergence of new asset classes such as tokenized art, property or even intellectual property (IP). Cryptoassets are just the first step on this journey and we are excited to explore the opportunities offered by tokenization with the launch of our exchange.”
He added, “Blockchain will eventually ‘eat’ traditional financial services through tokenization.”