21Finance
21Finance operates 21X, the first EU-regulated exchange under the EU DLT Regime for trading and settlement of tokenized digital assets. The platform serves institutional investors and market makers with atomic smart-contract settlement, operating as 21X AG headquartered in Frankfurt am Main.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersRuggell, Liechtenstein
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What 21Finance does
21Finance operates the 21X platform, a regulated digital asset exchange and settlement venue. Its legal entity 21X AG, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, became the first company in late 2024 to receive a license under the European Union's DLT Regime to operate a fully regulated exchange for trading and settlement of digital assets. The platform enables multilateral trading of tokenized financial instruments—including stocks, bonds, and fund tokens—via a smart contract-based atomic matching and settlement system that eliminates counterparty and credit risk between e-money tokens and DLT financial instruments.
The platform is built on a public permissionless blockchain (Stellar) and provides end-to-end infrastructure covering asset tokenization, issuance, distribution, listing, and trading on a single stack. 21Finance serves institutional investors, market makers, and onboarded traders through a request-and-approval onboarding model with direct market access via a web-based trading interface. Revenue is generated through transaction fees on trading and settlement operations, although the venue only recently went live and no revenue figures are disclosed.
The company was founded in 2017 and operates with 11–50 employees, with a registered presence in Ruggell, Liechtenstein. It raised approximately $3.72M in a single funding round in March 2022 and is led by founder and CEO Max Heinzle. The firm has assembled an ecosystem of partners including major banks (DekaBank, ABN Amro), capital markets specialists (Apex Group, Brick Towers, Black Manta Capital Partners), and technology providers (Stellar, d-fine, ISP, Cordial, Particula, Noumena, Tradevest). With the platform going live for trading following the December 2024 license award, the business is in early commercial stages.
21Finance firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 21Finance
- Legal name
- 21X AG
- Website
- https://21.finance
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- 21Finance operates 21X, the first EU-regulated exchange under the EU DLT Regime for trading and settlement of tokenized digital assets. The platform serves institutional investors and market makers with atomic smart-contract settlement, operating as 21X AG headquartered in Frankfurt am Main.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
21Finance industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Asset Trading Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Securities and Commodity Exchanges (52321), Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Tokenized Securities & Capital Markets Infrastructure (equities, bonds, funds, ATS/MTF connectivity) (FSAPAIAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- RWA Tokenization Platforms (asset onboarding, structuring, issuance) (FSAPAIAC), Settlement, Clearing & Reconciliation for Tokenized Assets (DvP, PvP, netting, post-trade) (FSAPAIAI), Blockchain Settlement & Clearing Infrastructure (On-/Off-chain Post-Trade) (FSAGAMAC)
Keywords
Where 21Finance is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ruggell
- HQ country
- Liechtenstein
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
21Finance business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Trading and Settlement Services: Revenue generated from trading and settlement operations on the regulated digital asset exchange. The platform enables multilateral trade between investors, institutions and market makers with atomic settlement.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels9 records
21Finance product offering
Product offeringCore offering
21Finance provides white-label Marketplace-as-a-Service (MaaS) and Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) solutions that enable clients to scale and streamline traditional and tokenized offerings. Its flagship deployment is 21X, a fully EU-regulated DLT-based trading and settlement platform that enables institutional investors, market makers and onboarded investors to trade tokenized stocks, bonds, and fund tokens with atomic, smart contract-based settlement.
Product overview
21X operates as a single unified platform offering end-to-end digital asset services. The core offering consists of the 21X Trading Venue for secondary market trading and the DLT Trading and Settlement System for tokenization, issuance, distribution, listing, and settlement. The platform enables multilateral trade between investors, institutions, and market makers with smart contract-based atomic matching and settlement between e-money tokens and DLT financial instruments. Users can access all asset types including stocks, bonds, and fund tokens through direct market access with institutional-grade tokenization, registry, and reporting.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- 21X Trading Venue A fully EU-regulated trading and settlement platform for digital assets that enables institutional investors and market makers to trade tokenized financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, and fund tokens with smart contract-enabled atomic matching and settlement.
- DLT Trading and Settlement System An end-to-end DLT-based trading and settlement system licensed under the EU DLT Regime, offering asset tokenization, issuance, distribution, listing and trading capabilities on a single platform with atomic, zero counterparty-risk settlement.
- White-label MaaS and BaaS Solutions White-label Marketplace-as-a-Service and Blockchain-as-a-Service offerings that help clients scale and streamline their traditional and tokenized offerings, leveraging the same regulated DLT infrastructure that powers the 21X trading venue.
Companies that use 21Finance
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
21Finance technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
21Finance partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- d-finecoreTechnology partner providing expertise in capital markets and blockchain solutions. Listed under the Blockchain partner category.
- Apex GroupcoreStrategic partner providing capital markets expertise. Listed under the Capital Markets partner category.
- DekaBankcoreMajor German bank partner providing capital markets and financial services expertise. Listed under the Capital Markets partner category.
- ISPcoreTechnology integration partner. Listed under the Blockchain and Service Provider partner categories.
- StellarcoreBlockchain technology partner providing underlying blockchain infrastructure for the trading platform. Listed under the Blockchain partner category.
- Brick TowersminorStrategic partner. Listed under the Capital Markets partner category.
- TradevestminorTradevest AI partner for trading and investment services. Listed under the Capital Markets partner category.
- ABN AmrocoreMajor Dutch bank partner that conducted successful on-chain trade of tokenized assets against stablecoins in preparation for 21X launch. Listed under the Capital Markets partner category.
- Black Manta Capital PartnersminorCapital markets and investment partner. Listed under the Capital Markets partner category.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
21Finance competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SIX Digital Exchange (SDX): Swiss operator of a fully regulated digital asset exchange and CSD infrastructure for tokenized securities. Most direct competitor to 21X as another licensed institutional venue trading and settling DLT-based financial instruments in Europe.
- Bitfinex Securities: Regulated digital asset securities exchange for tokenized bonds, equities and funds. Directly comparable to 21X as a competing licensed venue targeting institutional issuance and secondary trading of DLT financial instruments.
- Archax: FCA-regulated digital securities exchange, broker and custodian in London focused on tokenized real-world assets. Comparable to 21X in offering institutional trading and settlement infrastructure for tokenized instruments under a regulated framework.
- tZERO: US-regulated alternative trading system for tokenized securities with on-chain atomic settlement. Comparable to 21X in providing a regulated secondary venue for blockchain-based financial instruments.
Emerging players
- Securitize: Enterprise tokenization platform for issuance, transfer and compliance of digital securities. Comparable to 21X's tokenization and registry layer, though primarily issuance-focused rather than operating its own exchange.
- Tokeny: Enterprise-grade tokenization platform for issuance and lifecycle management of security tokens on blockchain. Comparable to 21X's tokenization and cap-table/registry capabilities.
- Taurus: Swiss digital asset infrastructure provider for issuing, custodying and trading tokenized securities, serving major European banks. Comparable to 21X as a competing tokenized-securities infrastructure provider targeting European institutions.
- Ownera: Interoperability and routing protocol for tokenized assets across permissioned and public blockchains. Comparable to 21X's multi-chain settlement ambitions and institutional focus on tokenized securities distribution.
- Ondo Finance: Tokenized real-world asset platform issuing institutional-grade tokenized securities and yield products on public blockchains. Comparable to 21X at the intersection of tokenized securities issuance and trading infrastructure.
- Centrifuge: On-chain platform for tokenizing, financing and trading real-world assets via a public blockchain protocol. Comparable to 21X in the tokenization and secondary-market infrastructure layer for institutional RWA.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
21Finance social profiles
Digital presence21Finance compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
21Finance financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
21Finance leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
21Finance funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
21Finance M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 21Finance
What does 21Finance do?
21Finance provides white-label Marketplace-as-a-Service (MaaS) and Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) solutions that enable clients to scale and streamline traditional and tokenized offerings. Its flagship deployment is 21X, a fully EU-regulated DLT-based trading and settlement platform that enables institutional investors, market makers and onboarded investors to trade tokenized stocks, bonds, and fund tokens with atomic, smart contract-based settlement.
Is 21Finance a public or private company?
21Finance is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was 21Finance founded?
21Finance was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is 21Finance based?
21Finance is headquartered in Ruggell, Liechtenstein, in the Europe region.
How does 21Finance make money?
One revenue line is on record: trading and Settlement Services.
Who are 21Finance's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), Bitfinex Securities, Archax and tZERO. Emerging players are Securitize, Tokeny, Taurus, Ownera, Ondo Finance and Centrifuge.
Does 21Finance have an API?
Yes. 21Finance exposes a public API. Developer documentation is at docs.21x.eu.
What industry is 21Finance in?
21Finance's product category is Digital Asset Trading Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPAIAD, Tokenized Securities & Capital Markets Infrastructure (equities, bonds, funds, ATS/MTF connectivity), with a secondary code of FSAPAIAC, RWA Tokenization Platforms (asset onboarding, structuring, issuance). Its NAICS code is 52321 and its SIC code is 6200.