Recently, every time I open Twitter, the screen is filled with discussions about tokenized US stocks. It is not an exaggeration to say that if you haven't been discussing this topic in the past few days, you might be out of touch with the market.
"US Stocks on the Chain" is the biggest hot topic in the market this week. Robinhood has launched stock tokenization services in Europe, while xStocks has also simultaneously landed on Kraken and Bybit; Solana DEX and the Arbitrum ecosystem have begun listing trading pairs like AAPLx and TSLAx, rapidly spreading this new narrative of stock tokenization.
But if you only see the hype and haven't understood the structure, you might become a victim in this narrative.
In my view, stock tokenization is essentially not about "issuing a token," but rather a stress test for on-chain finance:
Can the Web3 world truly support the issuance, trading, pricing, and redemption of mainstream financial assets?
Not Hype, but a Structural Stress Test for On-Chain Finance
From my perspective, our industry narrative is constantly evolving. As early as 2019, both Binance and FTX attempted to tokenize US stocks, but ultimately both were halted by regulators. The Mirror Protocol simulated US stock prices with synthetic assets, but it also perished alongside the collapse of Terra and SEC regulations. This was not a new concept; the industry simply wasn't mature enough at that time.
Today's stock tokenization is not a grassroots experiment but a compliant path led by licensed institutions like Robinhood and Backed Finance. This is a crucial turning point.
Taking Robinhood as an example, the stock tokenization service it launched in Europe follows an unprecedented closed-loop path of "broker-dealer self-operation + on-chain issuance."
They are not just simply posting a price on-chain; instead, Robinhood is licensed in the EU, purchasing actual US stocks, and issuing tokens that are 1:1 mapped on-chain. From custody, issuance, to clearing and settlement, and user interaction, the entire process is integrated, making the trading experience essentially akin to a combination of a securities account and a wallet.
Initially, they deployed these tokens on Arbitrum to ensure that on-chain transaction speed and costs are controllable, and they plan to migrate to a self-built Robinhood Chain, meaning they will master the entire infrastructure themselves.
Although voting rights cannot be opened yet to avoid governance-related regulations, the overall structure already shows signs of taking shape: it is like establishing an almost independently functioning "on-chain securities trading system" at the structural level.
For the crypto industry, this is the first time we see a traditional internet brokerage not only having autonomy at the issuance end but also deconstructing the on-chain structure of assets.
From Grassroots Experiment to Compliant Closed Loop
The recent surge in stock tokenization is, as I have previously reiterated, not a coincidence. Essentially, it is a resonance of several core variables occurring at the same time. The so-called timing, location, and harmony are probably just that.
First, there is a loosening of regulatory constraints and a clear direction. For example, Europe’s MiCA has officially landed, and the US SEC is no longer hammering down indiscriminately, starting to release signals that "negotiations can happen, and actions can be taken."
Robinhood's ability to quickly launch stock token services in the EU relies on the securities license it obtained in Lithuania; xStocks being integrated by both Kraken and Bybit is also inseparable from the compliance structure it built in Switzerland and Jersey.
At the same time, because on-chain funds are indeed looking for new asset outlets, the structure of on-site funds has changed. The gap between traditional financial markets and non-MEME crypto markets will only continue to narrow.
Looking at the present, there are a bunch of projects on-chain without fundamentals but boasting extremely high FDV, with liquidity piled up and nowhere to go. More prudent funds are starting to seek "anchored and logical" asset allocation outlets. At this time, with compliant structures and trading experiences, traditional players like Robinhood and xStocks bring stock tokens into the mix, making them attractive. They are familiar, stable, have narrative space, and can be paired with stablecoins and DeFi.
The integration of TradFi and Crypto is deepening. From BlackRock to JPMorgan, from UBS to MAS, traditional financial giants are no longer standing by and watching; they are genuinely building chains, running pilot projects, and engaging in infrastructure development. As the most mainstream and recognizable asset, stocks will clearly become a priority choice for tokenization.
Is Traditional Asset Tokenization an Opportunity for Crypto or a Threat to Projects?
Jiayi's Subjective View:
Looking ahead, stock tokenization is unlikely to follow an explosive growth curve, but it may become a highly resilient path for infrastructure evolution in the Web3 world.
The significance of this narrative lies in its ability to leverage two important structural changes: first, the boundaries of assets are genuinely beginning to migrate on-chain; second, the traditional financial system is willing to organize part of its trading and custody processes in an on-chain manner. Once these two things are established, they become irreversible.
So, is it good or bad for stocks to come and compete for liquidity in crypto projects?
In my view, this is a typical double-edged sword. It brings higher quality assets, but it will also subtly rewrite the flow structure of on-chain funds.
From a positive perspective,
The entry of traditional finance's "blue-chip assets" provides new outlets for on-chain funds and adds some options for "stable asset" allocation. In a market where narratives rotate too quickly and funds drift long-term, these clearly structured assets with real-world anchors help liquidity regain the basic coordinates of "where to allocate and what can be allocated."
This will also bring about a "catalyst effect." The strong narrative asset of US stock tokenization raises the entire on-chain benchmark, which will inevitably push the overall quality of Web3 projects upward. Let the garbage projects be eliminated by the market, to be honest.
Crypto players can directly purchase stocks in a Crypto Native manner, reducing the liquidity drain of US stocks on the large pool of Crypto.
Conversely,
It will also put pressure on crypto-native projects. Not only will the narrative be snatched away, but the structure of on-chain funds and user preferences will also be slowly reshaped. Especially when the liquidity of tokenized stocks rises and starts to run perpetuals, lending, and portfolio configurations, it will directly compete for stablecoin traffic, mainstream users, and attention on-chain.
For project teams: financing will become more difficult. When tokenized private equity like AAPLx, TSLAx, and potentially OpenAI or SpaceX appears in the on-chain asset pool, investors' and users' intuitive judgments about "what is worth investing in" and "what has a pricing anchor" will shift.
Stock tokenization prompts us to rethink: Is Web3 truly a system capable of supporting mainstream assets and real trading behaviors? Can we use an open financial structure to rebuild a securities system with lower friction and higher transparency than traditional markets?
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