Securitize launched Securitize Stocks on Thursday, a line of tokenized U.S. equities for eligible investors in the U.S., the European Union and other permitted jurisdictions. Each token is backed one-for-one by a real share held for the investor.
The first batch covers 12 stocks, including Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, Circle, Strategy and Palantir. Trading opens on Solana through Securitize’s registered broker-dealer. Trades settle in USDC, and Jump Trading makes markets through a PropAMM, an automated market maker run by a professional liquidity provider. Trading starts in extended hours, and the company said it plans to move to 24/7. The tokens are also expected to list on the NYSE’s planned 24/7 digital venue and on the OKXICE Tokenized Securities Venue, though neither has launched and both still need regulatory approval.
More Than Price Wrappers
What separates the product from many existing stock tokens is its legal structure. Each token is a security entitlement under Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code, the same framework that governs shares held at a brokerage. Holders get dividends and, where the share class has them, voting rights. Securitize said the underlying shares won’t be lent out. Holders can also convert their tokens into shares recorded directly on a company’s register once that company adopts issuer-sponsored tokenization.
“Tokenized stocks should give investors more than a price on a wrapper that tracks a stock and is only offered offshore,” said Carlos Domingo, Securitize’s chairman and CEO.
Several firms lined up behind the launch. Ripple Prime plans to support the tokens and explore adding them to its institutional trading business. Aave founder Stani Kulechov pointed to future lending and collateral uses. Clearing firm RQD* said it is supporting the clearing, custody and settlement side. Securitize’s disclosures note that holders are not registered shareholders unless they convert, and that the underlying companies have not sponsored or endorsed the tokens.
An Encouraging Regulatory Backdrop
The launch comes three weeks after the SEC granted a five-year innovation exemption for onchain trading of fully backed stock tokens. Synthetic stock tokens are outside that exemption. OKXICE, the joint venture between OKX and NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange, published its plan for a 24/7 venue on Oct. 4. Securitize manages about $5 billion in assets and listed its own shares on the NYSE in July. In March, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the NYSE to help build the exchange’s tokenized platform.
Related Listen: Should Stock Tokens Be Limited to KYC’d Users? Or Be Tradeable by Anyone?
