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Bitfinex Securities Is Taking a Different Approach to RWAs, Launches Two New Products in the U.K.

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These days, the mention of blockchain-based real world assets (RWAs) conjures up traditional finance institutions, like BlackRock, presiding over billions of dollars in tokenized money market funds.

But the original promise of crypto was about opening up finance opportunities to anyone. That’s the ethos Bitfinex Securities is sticking to with its latest tokenized equity issuances: two alternative finance products in the UK, one focused on community banking debt, the other on litigation relating to mis-sold car finance claims.

Announced on Wednesday, Bitfinex Securities’ “TITAN1” product will allocate 5 million british pounds ($6.8 million) into subordinate debt issued by Castle Community Bank, a firm supporting loans to financially excluded customers in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This alternative debt product will provide investors with a 20% dividend per annum (net of fees), which will be paid quarterly for up to 10 years, with non-callable provisions for the first 5 years, according to a press release.

The second structure, “TITAN2, will invest 100 million british pounds ($136 million) into litigation financing related to car finance mis-selling claims in the UK, a market expected to generate billions in compensation.

Funds will be deployed through equity-linked notes and Investors will receive a 50% share of the claims recovery proceeds split proportionately among investors, Bitfinex Securities said.

Both listings will be accessible to investors as tradable tokens via Bitfinex Securities’ secondary market. The tokens have been issued on the Liquid Network, a side chain of Bitcoin developed by technology firm Blockstream, where transfers require issuer authorization, with a whitelist system ensuring compliance standards and jurisdictional requirements.

Looking back in time, Bitfinex Securities’ foray into tokenized RWAs pre-dates by some years the current trend for blockchain-based financial assets issued by institutions like BlackRock or Franklin Templeton.

The firm started out with niche products like a tokenized bitcoin mining hashrate contract linked to Blockstream, followed by a number of bond issuances, including the first tokenized U.S. Treasuries offering in the nascent crypto hub of El Salvador, bringing T-Bill investments to individuals and organizations who were previously unable to access these products.

Jesse Knutson, head of operations at Bitfinex Securities, takes a philosophical view of the current tokenization trend.

“We want to be able to help people bridge that gap to investors,” Knutson said in an interview. “Whether it’s a company or a bond issuance, or whatever it is, to raise capital and kind of fill that gap that’s left by banks in many parts of the world that just aren’t willing to lend, or where people struggle to get access to capital.”

Fresh off a digital assets panel in London alongside BlackRock and UK asset manager Schroders, Knutson said there’s something of a bias in the ecosystem towards fixed income. Most of the focus is around money market funds, where people tend to buy and hold to get a yield, so there’s just not a lot of trading, he said.

“A big part of this is about disintermediation, and I think that’s something the institutional guys don’t quite get,” Knutson said. “When you look at the details of what they’ve actually done, it’s typically left hand to right hand. It’s the same kind of people. It’s going through depositories, it’s going through transfer payment agents, all of the normal kind of parts of the traditional ecosystem, which I don’t think are technologically probably necessary.”

Read more: How the Next Wave of RWAs is Becoming Crypto’s Real Edge

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Crypto Trading Firm Keyrock Buys Luxembourg’s Turing Capital in Asset Management Push

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Crypto trading firm Keyrock said it’s expanding into asset and wealth management by acquiring Turing Capital, a Luxembourg-registered alternative investment fund manager.

The deal, announced on Tuesday, marks the launch of Keyrock’s Asset and Wealth Management division, a new business unit dedicated to institutional clients and private investors.

Keyrock, founded in Brussels, Belgium and best known for its work in market making, options and OTC trading, said it will fold Turing Capital’s investment strategies and Luxembourg fund management structure into its wider platform. The division will be led by Turing Capital co-founder Jorge Schnura, who joins Keyrock’s executive committee as president of the unit.

The company said the expansion will allow it to provide services across the full lifecycle of digital assets, from liquidity provision to long-term investment strategies. «In the near future, all assets will live onchain,» Schnura said, noting that the merger positions the group to capture opportunities as traditional financial products migrate to blockchain rails.

Keyrock has also applied for regulatory approval under the EU’s crypto framework MiCA through a filing with Liechtenstein’s financial regulator. If approved, the firm plans to offer portfolio management and advisory services, aiming to compete directly with traditional asset managers as well as crypto-native players.

«Today’s launch sets the stage for our longer-term ambition: bringing asset management on-chain in a way that truly meets institutional standards,» Keyrock CSO Juan David Mendieta said in a statement.

Read more: Stablecoin Payments Projected to Top $1T Annually by 2030, Market Maker Keyrock Says

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Crypto Trading Firm Keyrock Buys Luxembourg’s Turing Capital in Asset Management Push

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Crypto trading firm Keyrock said it’s expanding into asset and wealth management by acquiring Turing Capital, a Luxembourg-registered alternative investment fund manager.

The deal, announced on Tuesday, marks the launch of Keyrock’s Asset and Wealth Management division, a new business unit dedicated to institutional clients and private investors.

Keyrock, founded in Brussels, Belgium and best known for its work in market making, options and OTC trading, said it will fold Turing Capital’s investment strategies and Luxembourg fund management structure into its wider platform. The division will be led by Turing Capital co-founder Jorge Schnura, who joins Keyrock’s executive committee as president of the unit.

The company said the expansion will allow it to provide services across the full lifecycle of digital assets, from liquidity provision to long-term investment strategies. «In the near future, all assets will live onchain,» Schnura said, noting that the merger positions the group to capture opportunities as traditional financial products migrate to blockchain rails.

Keyrock has also applied for regulatory approval under the EU’s crypto framework MiCA through a filing with Liechtenstein’s financial regulator. If approved, the firm plans to offer portfolio management and advisory services, aiming to compete directly with traditional asset managers as well as crypto-native players.

«Today’s launch sets the stage for our longer-term ambition: bringing asset management on-chain in a way that truly meets institutional standards,» Keyrock CSO Juan David Mendieta said in a statement.

Read more: Stablecoin Payments Projected to Top $1T Annually by 2030, Market Maker Keyrock Says

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Gemini Shares Slide 6%, Extending Post-IPO Slump to 24%

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Gemini Space Station (GEMI), the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has seen its shares tumble by more than 20% since listing on the Nasdaq last Friday.

The stock is down around 6% on Tuesday, trading at $30.42, and has dropped nearly 24% over the past week. The sharp decline follows an initial surge after the company raised $425 million in its IPO, pricing shares at $28 and valuing the firm at $3.3 billion before trading began.

On its first day, GEMI spiked to $45.89 before closing at $32 — a 14% premium to its offer price. But since hitting that high, shares have plunged more than 34%, erasing most of the early enthusiasm from public market investors.

The broader crypto equity market has remained more stable. Coinbase (COIN), the largest U.S. crypto exchange, is flat over the past week. Robinhood (HOOD), which derives part of its revenue from crypto, is down 3%. Token issuer Circle (CRCL), on the other hand, is up 13% over the same period.

Part of the pressure on Gemini’s stock may stem from its financials. The company posted a $283 million net loss in the first half of 2025, following a $159 million loss in all of 2024. Despite raising fresh capital, the numbers suggest the business is still far from turning a profit.

Compass Point analyst Ed Engel noted that GEMI is currently trading at 26 times its annualized first-half revenue. That multiple — often used to gauge whether a stock is expensive — means investors are paying 26 dollars for every dollar the company is expected to generate in sales this year. For a loss-making company in a volatile sector, that’s a steep price, and could be fueling investor skepticism.

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