Estonia-based DX.Exchange revealed on Thursday that it will be going live on January 7, 2019. Furthermore, it also announced that it has partnered with MPS MarketPlace Securities, Ltd, to be the first exchange to offer tokenized stocks of some of the largest publicly traded companies in the world which will be available at the time of launch.

The European Union (EU)-regulated exchange is a NASDAQ-powered cryptocurrency and digital securities exchange. The tokenized stocks available include the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon, Intel, and many others.

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According to the statement, these stocks are the first securities to be tokenized and traded as an ERC-20 (Ethereum Request for Comment) token. These tokens are back by real stocks issued by MPS MarketPlace Securities, Ltd, a liquidity solution provider for the financial market.

Commenting on the news, Daniel Skowronski, the CEO of DX.Exchange said: “We have been waiting to go live with the most upgraded, inclusive, and modern version of our exchange platform. The industry is very dynamic, and with new and exciting products such as digital stocks making their grand entrance, we’re confident that the hard work to perfect the trading experience was well worth the effort.”

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So how does it work? Firstly, MPS MarketPlace Securities issues the tokens that represent the stocks on the Ethereum blockchain via smart contracts. The firm will buy and hold real-world stocks which will be conducted based on demands on the DX.Exchange platform.

The tokens that will be offered to users will be shares from public companies listed on top exchanges such as Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Hong Kong Exchange, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Digital stocks are a combination of blockchain technology and traditional stock investments, which some might say is getting the best of both worlds. The digital stocks are backed 1:1 by real-world stocks that are traded on conventional stock exchanges such as Nasdaq and the NYSE. Because of this, if you are a token holder, you own actual shares of the company by which the token is backed.

“We are creating the first real bridge between crypto and the real stock exchange, and this is the beginning of the traditional market’s merge with blockchain technology. The old market has finally been connected to a new, tokenized financial world,” added Amedeo Moscato, COO of DX.Exchange.

This is not the first time the DX.Exchange has made headlines, as it is one of the first crypto exchanges to be powered by NASDAQ, as Finance Magnates reported exclusively.

The new venture for the exchange is backed by NFX, a San Francisco-based seed and series A venture firm. The DX.Exchange is built on NASDAQ’s Matching technology.

Through the exchange, both professional and retail investors will be able to purchase cryptocurrencies with Fiat and Trade cryptocurrencies. They can also convert cryptocurrencies back to Fiat currencies.