ByCoinGape
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Paolo A led Bitfinex exhcnage has added another service into its Latin america portfolio. It has secured a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) licence in El Salvador, adding its core spot trading business to the company’s existing regulated operations in the country.
This gives the exchange a broader foothold in one of Latin America’s most crypto-focused markets.
The approval means Bitfinex now has licensed operations spanning spot digital asset trading, derivatives and tokenised securities in El Salvador. Here’s how:
A Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) licence is the regulatory authorisation issued under El Salvador’s digital asset framework by the Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales (CNAD).
The license is required by businesses to provide regulated digital asset services in the country, including exchanges and other digital asset businesses.
For Bitfinex, the latest licence effectively places its core exchange operations under El Salvador’s digital asset regulatory framework. Together with its existing licences, the company can now maintain a regulated presence across three major segments. This includes spot crypto markets through Bitfinex, derivatives through Bitfinex Derivatives and tokenised securities through Bitfinex Securities.
Its affiliates, Bitfinex Securities and Bitfinex Derivatives, already hold DASP licences in the country. Bitfinex Securities became the first international digital asset platform to receive approval under El Salvador’s Digital Assets Issuance Law in April 2023. On the other hand, Bitfinex Derivatives secured its own licence in January 2025.
According to its official announcement, Bitfinex Securities business operates under licences in El Salvador and the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) in Kazakhstan, where the platform focuses on tokenised securities and capital markets.
The latest El Salvador licence therefore gives Bitfinex something more strategically valuable than another regulatory registration. It brings its spot, derivatives and tokenised securities businesses under a connected regulated presence in the same jurisdiction.
This comes as regulatory oversight and market volatility is forcing exchanges to shut down. Recently, Arthur Hayes-led BitMEX exchange announced shutting down.
Latin America has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing crypto regions, with nearly $1.5 trillion in on-chain transaction volume recorded between July 2022 and June 2025. The region has seen crypto adoption grow 63% year over year, making it the second-fastest-growing market globally after Asia-Pacific. Brazil leads the region with $318.8 billion in crypto transaction volume, followed by Argentina ($93.9 billion) and Mexico ($71.2 billion).
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