Stocks on Securitize will be “real, regulated shares” that are issued onchain, recorded on an issuer’s cap table, and representative of full shareholder rights, unlike many synthetic alternatives currently offered.
Securitize has introduced plans to launch onchain stocks in the coming months — directly moving into a busy segment of the tokenized real-world assets economy.
The leading tokenization firm’s offering will feature “real, regulated shares” that are issued onchain, recorded on an issuer’s cap table, and representative of full shareholder rights, including dividends and proxy voting, yet are still interoperable in the DeFi ecosystem, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
“This is not a synthetic price tracker or an IOU against a custodian,” Securitize said in a statement.
Securitize’s announcement comes amid a period of growth not just for the firm, which is looking to go public in the next year, but for the entire RWA space. The amount of tokenized value has exploded as U.S. regulators continue to encourage financial sector experimentation, according to The Block’s data.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins, for one, has repeatedly said that tokenization represents an advancement on the traditional financial system — though not without risk. Under Atkins’ leadership, the securities watchdog is working on a new token taxonomy to guide oversight of an increasingly autonomous and decentralized financial sector.
Today’s tokenization
As part of its announcement, Securitize took aim at existing tokenized stock programs today, noting most options “offer exposure, not ownership.”
“They rely on derivatives, SPVs, or offshore structures that attempt to mirror stock prices, often introducing fragmentation, counterparty risk, and pricing inconsistencies,” Securitize noted. “In some cases, they are not even compliant, since they issue bearer assets that, while representing securities, are issued as permissionless assets without any KYC or AML controls.”
For instance, Robinhood, which tapped Arbitrum for its “tokenized equities” offering, has clarified its tokens are derivatives of real stocks. Similarly, xStocks, a product issued by Backed, use tokens that are fully backed by actual shares of an underlying stock or ETF that are held by a licensed, regulated custodian. Kraken, an early adopter of xStocks, is in talks to acquire Backed.
Other startups, like Superstate, are looking to offer ways to issue equity onchain natively. The firm’s upcoming Direct Issuance product will enable public firms to raise capital using newly issued tokenized shares without an underwriter. Meanwhile, some perps exchanges are using fully synthetic stocks to unlock blockchain utility without the complexity of bringing stocks onchain.
Perhaps the most significant shift will come when the Depository Trust Company, a cornerstone part of the traditional stock market, introduces a way for participants to tokenize certain equities on pre-approved blockchains, a move expected in the second half of 2026.
Securitize’s new product, however, is said to represent an advancement over existing tokenization routes in that it removes the wall between traditionally issued shares and their onchain equivalents. “The token itself is the legally recognized share,” Securitize said.
How ‘Stocks on Securitize’ works
Under this model, called Stocks on Securitize, Securitize will act as the Securities and Exchange Commission-registered transfer agent, while the blockchain serves as the authoritative record of ownership. Transfers will be executed through Securitize’s SEC-registered broker-dealer, Securitize Markets, or Securitize Europe Brokerage & Markets, a Trading Services System in Europe.
While fully onchain, Securitize reportedly uses two different routes of trade execution depending on whether U.S. markets are open or closed. During regular trading hours, “regulated tokenized stocks must follow SEC rules,” including the National Best Bid and Offer regulation that requires brokers to execute customer trades at the lowest available price.
“Because settlement happens instantly on-chain rather than through the traditional clearing and settlement framework, Securitize relies on appropriate regulatory exemptions that allow real-time blockchain settlement while still complying with NBBO and the broader NMS framework,” the firm said.
Meanwhile, when markets are closed, Securitize Markets’ smart contracts will use an automated market maker-style pricing mechanism that adjusts prices based on onchain trading activity. The firm notes that traders will have to access to a “unique trading environment unavailable in traditional markets.”
“Once public equities exist as tokens, they can interact with smart contracts, liquidity protocols, and on-chain financial infrastructure, enabling new forms of collateralization, automation, transparency, and composability that simply aren’t possible today,” Securitize wrote.
