The tokenization of U.S. stocks may sound like a trendy concept in the crypto industry, but it is not new. Years ago, U.S. stock tokenization was seen as an important attempt to connect traditional stock markets with the crypto market, regarded as an innovative tool to break geographical, temporal, and threshold limitations. For example, FTX once launched this service, allowing users to trade digital tokens of U.S. stocks like Tesla and Apple on its platform.
Despite a period of silence due to compliance pressures, the U.S. stock tokenization sector is making a comeback with new players like Gate, Robinhood, and Bybit entering the market, reigniting discussions about regulation, liquidity, and practical feasibility.
In simple terms, U.S. stock tokenization involves mapping traditional U.S. stocks into tokens using blockchain technology, enabling users to trade these "on-chain equivalents" of stocks 24/7 on crypto exchanges. Tokens are generally pegged to stock prices, with some backed by actual stock custody (where real stocks are purchased behind the scenes) and others being purely contracts or contracts for difference (CFDs).
First Generation Players: FTX and Binance's Attempts (2019–2021)
The years 2019–2021 marked the peak of the first wave of "U.S. stock tokenization" attempts:
FTX: Early on, it launched U.S. stock tokens for companies like Tesla, Apple, and Amazon. These tokens were backed by real stocks held in custody by a third party (CM-Equity AG, a licensed broker in Germany), with FTX providing the trading platform.
Binance: In 2021, it also launched "stock tokens," partnering with CM-Equity. Users could purchase these tokens using USDT, supporting fractional shares and with no commission fees.
The outcome: In July 2021, Binance delisted all stock tokens after receiving warnings from regulatory agencies in Germany, the UK, and other countries; FTX also gradually weakened this business due to compliance pressures, and it naturally ceased to exist after FTX's bankruptcy.
This wave of attempts exposed two major issues:
Securities Nature: U.S. stock tokens are essentially equivalent to securities and must comply with various countries' securities laws, not just simple crypto tokens.
Cross-Border Compliance: Different countries have strict requirements for the issuance and custody of securities, and the lack of licensing and cross-border custody capabilities in crypto poses significant risks.
Compliance-Oriented Exploration: The Rise of STOs and RWAs
After the setbacks faced by FTX and Binance, the market did not abandon U.S. stock tokenization services but instead evolved towards compliant security tokens (STOs) and the broader category of real-world assets (RWAs).
Some smaller exchanges and fintech companies (like Fusang, SIX Digital Exchange, INX) have attempted to issue regulated stock or bond tokens using licensed models.
Traditional financial giants (Citigroup, Morgan, BlackRock) are also advancing asset tokenization, focusing more on bonds, fund shares, payments, and settlement processes. U.S. stock tokenization is one of the more sensitive areas, making it the hardest to implement.
A New Round of Trials: Gate, Robinhood, and Other Emerging Players
Entering 2023–2024, with the RWA concept gaining traction, some leading or emerging exchanges are trying again:
Gate announced the launch of the xStocks U.S. stock trading zone, promoting itself as one of the first crypto trading platforms to offer U.S. stocks globally and the first exchange to provide U.S. stock contracts. Additionally, Robinhood, Bybit, and Kraken announced on the same day that they would further expand the integration of U.S. stock trading and crypto business.
Some emerging DeFi protocols (like Synthetix, Mirror Protocol) have also created synthetic assets for stocks, allowing users to track U.S. stock prices with synthetic tokens, but these are mostly pure derivatives without actual stock custody.
Compared to the previous round of U.S. stock tokenization attempts, the new players represented by Gate, Bybit, Kraken, and Robinhood show several notable changes.
First, the compliance approach and execution are more robust. The U.S. stock tokenization products launched by early players like Binance and FTX mostly relied on third-party brokers to hold real stocks, primarily using technical means to bypass geographical restrictions and trading time barriers. However, due to a lack of licensing and compliance transparency, these products quickly attracted regulatory scrutiny from multiple countries and had to be delisted.
This time, Robinhood is itself a licensed broker, while Kraken and Bybit have chosen to partner with Backed Finance to tokenize U.S. stocks through xStocks, adopting a compliant custody model to ensure that tokens are 1:1 linked to real stocks and verifiable on-chain. Meanwhile, Gate has opted to enter through the contract market, offering a more flexible product structure that also reduces regulatory sensitivity.
Secondly, the product forms are more aligned with the needs of crypto-native users. The previous round of U.S. stock tokenization resembled merely "moving traditional stocks on-chain," with core selling points like fractional shares and 24-hour trading convenience, not significantly different from traditional brokers. Now, platforms like Gate focus on derivatives: using USDT pricing, leverage, and bidirectional operations, allowing users to participate in U.S. stock price fluctuations with familiar crypto funds, which is more attractive to traders seeking high volatility and high leverage.
Finally, the market narrative has shifted from isolated product innovation to the broader trend of RWAs. U.S. stocks are just a part of the on-chain representation of real assets; more assets like bonds, real estate, and commodities are also being incorporated into the exploration of on-chain finance. In this context, licensed exchanges are attempting to connect traditional financial assets with on-chain users, extending the boundaries of crypto exchanges and providing new cross-market entry points for institutional and retail users.
As the popularity of RWAs continues to rise, U.S. stocks are becoming a "breakthrough" in this wave, but it is by no means the endpoint. According to various data, the RWA market is expected to grow by 260% in the first half of 2025, with a total scale exceeding $23 billion.
On the regulatory front, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins mentioned in an interview with CNBC that "stock tokenization is an innovation" and is leading public seminars on RWAs, attempting to establish a regulatory blueprint for this new field.
Overall, this round of U.S. stock tokenization is no longer an isolated experiment but a part of the broader trend of RWAs, regulatory trials, and the evolution of exchange models. It paves the way for traditional assets to go on-chain and provides a "model project" for future on-chain investments in assets like bonds, real estate, and private equity funds. As technology, compliance, and infrastructure mature, global asset tokenization is accelerating from concept to norm.
Related: U.S. employment data exceeding expectations keeps the Federal Reserve from cutting rates, Bitcoin (BTC) fluctuates around the $110,000 mark.
Original article: “Gate, Robinhood, Bybit Enter the Game: What Makes U.S. Stock Tokenization Comeback?”
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