El Salvador’s Stock Exchange (BVES) is the first in Latin America to offer digital assets. Digital Exchange, BVES’ digital arm, will provide products after receiving the go-ahead from the National Commission for Digital Assets (CNAD) to be a digital asset provider.

BVES claims it is the first regional stock exchange to establish a platform dedicated to the custody, issuance, management and trading of digital assets.

Rolando Duarte, president of BVES, said in a statement, “With Digital Exchange, we position ourselves at the forefront of financial innovation. Our mission is to provide market participants and local and international investors with a transparent and accessible platform that reflects the future of global finance.”

El Salvador has forged ahead with a plan to modernize finance in the region. It has recognized Bitcoin as legal tender (although this has since been rescinded), offered to headquarter a Central American stock exchange and crypto firm Tether, and drafted specialist legislation for alternate financial vehicles.

BVES acknowledges the assistance of Koibanx, which specializes in tokenization and blockchain infrastructure. The 2022 Digital Asset Issuance Law is the basis for the 39 registered asset providers in the country.

One of the first tests for Digital Exchange will be the tokenization of the Guatemala Interoceanic Consortium. Using the COINGT digital asset, the group wants to finance $325 million to unite the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which will be achieved via ports, rail and a multimodal transport megaproject. The finance will be used in two tranches to pay for land acquisition, move the current plot owners, and pay suppliers. Ultimately, the consortium hopes to have a 231-mile property from Jutiapa to Ciudad Barrios.

“We are paving the way toward a digital financial ecosystem,” says BVES executive director Valentín Arrieta, “Digital Exchange opens the doors to new financial opportunities, connecting companies, institutional clients, and natural investors with the possibilities offered by digital assets, positioning the Exchange as a leader in innovation in the region.” According to a CNAD report, more than $5 billion in digital asset issuances were approved in 2024.