Research summary
bTokens are the product Backed Finance sold before xStocks, and they are being shut. Each one is a tracker certificate, a debt note, issued by Backed Assets (JE) Limited of Jersey, the same company that issues xStocks. The note follows an ETF or a share one for one; the largest by value track the iShares Core S&P 500 fund (bCSPX, about $24 million) and a short US Treasury fund (bIB01, about $19 million). The holder owns a claim on collateral that a Swiss bank holds for that product and that a security agent can seize if the issuer fails. The holder owns no part of the fund or the company. The line has no future. Backed, now part of Kraken, said in March 2026 that bTokens "will be gradually wound down by the end of 2026" and asked holders to swap into xStocks. The base prospectus of 8 May 2026 carries forward the public offer of xStocks only: its list of continued products starts at number 18, AAPLx, and none of the seventeen bTokens appears. The terms that govern the notes still in issue are the old final terms, the latest dated July 2025. For a US advisor the answer is no on access alone. The terms bar US persons, the issuer sells directly only to qualified professional investors, and the minimum is CHF 5,000. A holder who bought on chain can redeem only after the issuer’s own KYC. On chain, 2-of-3 multisigs own each contract and can upgrade it, and a single private key controls the sanctions list that can stop any address from sending or receiving.
Observable review triggers
- Backed reverses the wind-down and brings bTokens into a current prospectus
- Redemption or the xStocks swap closes before the end of 2026, or the issuer calls a product
- An implementation upgrade adds a freeze or a burn of another holder’s tokens, or the sanctions list blocks a holder
- The custodian or security agent changes, or the collateral for any product falls short
Facts on file
- Research assessment
- Adverse
- Client selection
- Not considered
- Exposure
- tokenized RWA
- Chains examined
- Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, BSC, Base, Gnosis, Fantom, Sonic, Solana
- Instruments
- bCSPX, bIB01, bC3M, bCOIN, bIBTA, bNVDA, bTSLA, bHIGH
- Reviewed
- Next review