UMX, the Unified Market Exchange incubated by Li Lin’s Avenir Group, launched an invitation only public beta on Aug. 10 for professional investors.
Summary
- UMX launched an invitation-only beta combining crypto trading with real U.S. stocks, ETFs and options.
- Users can convert USDT into dollars or borrow against crypto to fund securities purchases directly.
- UMX says securities positions represent actual shares rather than CFDs or purely price-tracking tokenized products.
- Stock holdings can be converted into tokens and counted toward crypto account margin requirements directly.
- Avenir held 18.28 million IBIT shares at March 31, retaining Asia’s largest institutional holder ranking.
The platform combines crypto trading with access to real U.S. stocks, ETFs and U.S. stock options, according to a PANews report citing official disclosures.
The beta is built around moving capital between crypto and securities accounts rather than keeping the two markets separate. UMX says eligible users can trade crypto spot, margin, contracts and options while also accessing U.S. securities through the same broader platform.
UMX beta combines crypto and real U.S. securities
UMX says its securities service gives users positions in actual U.S. shares rather than CFDs or products that only track stock prices. A Wu Blockchain review of UMX disclosures says the service includes stocks, ETFs, options and fractional shares, with trading spanning premarket, regular, after hours and overnight sessions.
The platform is aimed at global professional investors, but access depends on location, account status and product eligibility. The launch material does not establish that the securities service is available to U.S. residents. Offering U.S. listed assets and serving customers located in the U.S. are separate questions, so the distinction should remain clear until UMX publishes more jurisdiction specific details.
Cross asset tools connect stablecoins, crypto and shares
UMX’s main feature is the capital bridge between its crypto and securities sides. Through “Exchange Transfer,” users can convert stablecoins such as USDT into U.S. dollars and move the funds into a securities account. “Loan Transfer” allows crypto assets other than stablecoins to serve as collateral for purchasing power used to trade stocks, ETFs and U.S. stock options.
The platform also says securities holdings can be converted through a “Shares to Token” function into corresponding stock tokens. Those tokens can count toward crypto account margin at applicable discount rates and can later be converted back into securities. The launch reports reviewed do not identify the blockchain, token issuer or detailed custody structure behind those converted positions.
UMX is also testing cross asset margin treatment for eligible wealth management balances. During the beta, it advertises maximum annualized yields of “up to 2.5%” for BTC and “up to 5.5%” for USDT products. Those figures are platform advertised rates rather than guaranteed returns, and UMX says rates, limits and terms depend on the individual product.
Avenir brings a large Bitcoin ETF position to UMX
Avenir Group describes its strategy as integrating traditional finance and digital assets through investment, incubation and operations. The firm has also invested in trading infrastructure, including a February partnership with CoinRoutes aimed at improving institutional execution and capital efficiency across fragmented markets.
An SEC filing by Avenir Tech Ltd, signed by Li Lin, shows 18,276,100 BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust shares worth about $702.2 million as of March 31. The filing was submitted May 15 and remains the latest quarterly 13F available as of Aug. 10.
As crypto.news reported in earlier Avenir coverage, the group had already built a large regulated Bitcoin ETF position before expanding further into infrastructure connecting traditional and digital finance.
UMX also enters a market where crypto platforms are moving toward broader financial services. In Binance’s stock trading rollout, eligible users outside the U.S. gained access to thousands of U.S. stocks and ETFs. Meanwhile, recent NYSE tokenization coverage shows traditional exchanges pursuing blockchain based securities infrastructure from the opposite direction.
What happens next for UMX
The public beta remains invitation only. Users with a beta code can register, while those without one can reserve access to the full version and receive launch notifications. UMX has not disclosed a firm date for its wider release in the launch material reviewed.
The next details to watch are the legal entities providing each securities and crypto service, jurisdiction restrictions, custody arrangements and the mechanics behind stock token conversions. For now, the confirmed development is the beta itself: UMX is testing a framework designed to make stablecoins, crypto collateral and real U.S. securities usable within a shared capital system.
