Swarm launches first stocks and ETFs trading platform using DeFi

Amid all of the noise in the world of crypto, many in the financial world have been more excited about how blockchains could be used to better trade securities such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. 

Swarm, a Berlin-based fintech company, has now brought such a platform to market by launching today what it says is the world’s first public investment offering using a form of crypto technology known as DeFi.

To begin with, Swarm will offer just Apple, Tesla, and two US Treasury Bond ETFs via fully asset-backed tokens based on the Polygon blockchain. This allows access for both retail and institutional investors, with no minimum investment.

Unlike regular trading, this allows investors to buy and sell the tokens all the time even when markets are closed, in a manner Swarm says is fully compliant with German regulation.

Another key difference is that custody of the stocks is fully taken by the owner, cutting out a traditional cost for trading.

Swarm says it will be adding more stocks and real-world assets in the future.