Tokenization regulation · El Salvador

Tokenization regulation in El Salvador: the LEAD and the CNAD

Tokenization is generally permitted in El Salvador under the Ley de Emisión de Activos Digitales (LEAD, Digital Assets Issuance Law) of 2023. The Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales (CNAD) supervises it. Public offerings of digital assets generally need a certified Relevant Information Document enabled by the CNAD, and service providers register as DASPs.

Last updated:

Educational overview, not legal, tax or investment advice. Regulation changes, and the answer for any project depends on the asset, the structure, the investors and where they are. Consult qualified counsel in each jurisdiction before you issue, offer or market anything. Last reviewed 16 October 2026.

Are tokenized assets securities under Salvadoran law?

LEAD Art. 3 says digital assets are not considered títulos valores, and that the securities provisions of the Commercial Code, the Ley del Mercado de Valores and other listed securities laws do not apply to them. In practice the LEAD and CNAD regulations, not the traditional securities-market rules, are the framework for digital-asset offerings. How this applies to a given structure, and to investors in other countries, is a question for counsel.

How does a public offering of digital assets work under the LEAD?

  1. 01

    Is it a public offering?

    Art. 30: an offer to the general public, on a mass basis, to market or sell digital assets. Private offerings are excluded from the LEAD’s public-offering provisions (Art. 31), although the CNAD also offers a registration route for private issuances.

  2. 02

    Relevant Information Document

    The issuer prepares a Documento de Información Relevante (Art. 32).

  3. 03

    Certification

    A certifier registered with the CNAD analyses the offering and reports to the CNAD; only favourable reports count as certified (Art. 26).

  4. 04

    Enabling by the CNAD

    The certified document goes to the CNAD for habilitación; once enabled, the CNAD makes it available to potential acquirers (Art. 32).

What is a DASP (PSAD) in El Salvador?

A digital asset service provider registered with the CNAD. LEAD Art. 19 lists the activities DASPs may carry out:

  • (a) exchange of digital assets for fiat or other digital assets;
  • (b) operating an exchange or trading platform;
  • (c) risk and price evaluation and subscription of issuances;
  • (d) placing digital assets on platforms or wallets;
  • (e) promoting, structuring and managing investment products in digital assets;
  • (f) for third parties: transfer, custody, receiving and transmitting orders, and executing orders in derivative digital assets.

A registration covers only the activities it lists. The CNAD keeps public registries of DASPs, issuers, issuances and certifiers.

How does Libertum fit in?

Libertum, S.A. de C.V. holds an El Salvador Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) licence from the Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales (CNAD), registry entry PSAD-0094. It covers custody, exchange and transfer of USDT and USDC and receipt and transmission of client orders (LEAD Art. 19 (a), (d) and (f) numerals 1 and 2), and RLUSD custody has been approved by the CNAD under the same registration.

  • It does not authorise issuance. Each issuer and each issuance registers separately with the CNAD; using T-Suite does not register an issuer or an offering.
  • It does not cover promotion, structuring or management of investment products (LEAD Art. 19(e)); that authorisation has not been granted.
  • Libertum is not a LEAD certifier. Its Smart Contract Certificate is a technology certificate, not a certification for a public offering.
  • El Salvador only. The licence confers no passporting or authorisation elsewhere.
  • The software: on-chain rules with ERC-3643, CIP-113 and authorised XRPL tokens (country allow/restrict lists, maximum balance, hold time, KYC claims), KYC/KYB via Sumsub, and the Structuring module (Beta), whose El Salvador CNAD/LEAD pack is a draft marked “Beta — pending counsel review”. Structuring is a software tool, not a Libertum legal or structuring service.

Issuers remain responsible, with their own counsel, for registration or exemption analysis in El Salvador and every other jurisdiction where they offer. See Licences and Compliance.

Related

El Salvador tokenization FAQ

Is tokenization legal in El Salvador?

Generally yes, under the LEAD and CNAD regulations. Public offerings generally need a certified, CNAD-enabled Relevant Information Document, and service providers need the matching DASP registration. The requirements depend on the offering and the activities involved.

Do private offerings need CNAD approval?

The LEAD excludes private offerings from its public-offering provisions, but the CNAD’s regulations and registration options also cover private issuances. Confirm what applies with counsel.

Does a DASP licence allow a company to issue tokens?

Not by itself. Issuers and issuances are registered separately with the CNAD.

Is Libertum a LEAD certifier?

No. Libertum, S.A. de C.V. is a CNAD-registered DASP (PSAD-0094). It does not certify public offerings under the LEAD.

Primary sources

Last checked:

  1. Ley de Emisión de Activos Digitales, Decreto Legislativo N.° 643 (official text published by the CNAD) — Decree 643 of 11 January 2023, D.O. No. 16, Vol. 438, 24 January 2023; in force eight days after publication (Art. 47); purpose and scope (Arts. 1–2); definition of digital asset and exclusion from títulos valores/securities laws (Art. 3); creation of the CNAD (Art. 6); DASP activities (Art. 19); certifiers (Arts. 26–27); public offerings (Art. 30); private offerings excluded (Art. 31); Relevant Information Document and enabling by the CNAD (Art. 32).
  2. CNAD — Marco legal — List of the legal framework: LEAD 2023; DASP regulation 2023; stablecoin public offering regulation 2023; regulation on registration of issuers and public and private issuances; PSAD AML/CFT guide.
  3. CNAD — Home — CNAD's role; public registries of DASPs, issuers, issuances and certifiers; CNAD states that operating without its approval is illegal.
  4. CNAD — Register an issuance — Registration types: public issuance offer, private issuance offer, stablecoin offer.

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