Tokenization protocol Backed Finance AG has raised $9.5 million in a Series A funding round. The capital injection was led by Gnosis and included participation from Exor Seeds, Cyber Fund, Mindset Ventures, Stake Capital Ventures, Blockchain Founders Fund, Blue Bay Capital, and Nonce Classic.
Backed Finance said the new funding will boost its private tokenization offerings, focusing on connecting asset managers with blockchain tech. The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) is still a hot topic in the crypto world, seen as one of the key uses of blockchain technology.
Backed recently rolled out a full set of tokenization services including a tokenized government bond on the layer-2 network Base. The protocol has turned BlackRock's iShares bond ETF UCITS, which follows a mix of short-term U.S. Treasury bills, into a tokenized version.
This also involves issuing bTokens—permissionless ERC-20 tokens that are both composable and interoperable. Recently, these tokens have been used as stablecoin collateral by Angle Protocol for their USD stablecoin, USDA, and to create real-world yield vaults on MorphoBlue.
"We are thrilled to have secured this significant investment round, with strong participation from both new and existing investors. This funding is a testament to the potential of tokenization, and will allow us to build new products suited to the needs of institutional clients," said Adam Levi, Co-founder at Backed.
With the new funding, Backed continues to develop its technology to ensure that all data involving tokenized assets is accurate and verifiable.
Based said it provides a bridge between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) through its tokenization services. The blockchain protocol runs under the Swiss Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Act, enabling it to issue Backed tokens (bTokens) that mirror the value of various assets, including treasury ETFs, corporate bond ETFs, and equities.