Author: Conflux
As the global financial market seeks new growth stories, tokenized US stocks are gradually moving from an abstract concept to reality.
Recently, Ondo Finance launched Ondo Global Markets, which initially offered over 100 tokenized products for US stocks and ETFs, covering popular market targets such as Apple and Nvidia. According to data disclosed by the company, the platform achieved a trading volume of $65 million within just two days of its launch.
By the end of 2024, the total market capitalization of the global stock market is estimated to be around $128 trillion, with the US market accounting for nearly half. If only 1% of stocks are issued in token form, the potential market size could reach the trillion-dollar level. The "2025 Skynet RWA Security Report" predicts that the tokenized RWA market could grow to $16 trillion by 2030.
Multiple Giants Enter the Arena
Ondo's attempt is not an isolated case. Switzerland's Backed Finance has already turned tokenized stocks into a scalable business using a clearly regulated distributed ledger technology (DLT) framework. Its xStocks platform issues tokens based on the Solana Program Library (SPL) standard, with each token fully corresponding to the underlying stock at a 1:1 ratio, ensuring transparency and security.
Moreover, investors can not only gain exposure to traditional assets but also enjoy the composability of on-chain applications. Backed Finance revealed on social media that the total on-chain trading volume of xStocks has surpassed $300 million, and they believe this growth is "just the beginning," with future trading volumes expected to multiply from this foundation.
At the same time, the US retail investment platform Robinhood has chosen to test the waters in Europe first, launching tokenized products covering over 200 US stocks and ETFs, and building trading infrastructure on the Ethereum Layer-2 Arbitrum to support all-day trading on business days. A more groundbreaking attempt is that Robinhood has opened up tokenized investments in unlisted companies such as OpenAI and SpaceX to users, with these tokens corresponding to shares of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) rather than direct equity in the companies.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev stated that Robinhood will continue to push for the on-chain transformation of the entire ecosystem and is already working on building a blockchain network specifically for tokenized assets. The market reacted positively to this statement, with HOOD's stock price soaring to a historic high of $91 on Nasdaq.
Other market participants are also eager to catch up. Dinari is issuing a tokenized product called dShares within the US, operating in compliance with local legal environments. Exchanges like Gemini, Bybit, and Kraken have launched tokenized stock services aimed at European and Asian investors, and Coinbase is also rumored to be seeking regulatory approval. The competition over "who will become the main entry point for tokenized stocks" is expanding from startups to mature fintech and crypto platforms.
On-Chain Stocks or Financial Derivatives?
The core logic driving tokenized stocks is similar to that of stablecoins. Stablecoins have enabled the global digital circulation of the dollar, while tokenized stocks provide the same global accessibility for securities assets.
For non-US investors, traditional cross-border investments often mean lengthy account opening procedures, high capital thresholds, and complex settlement cycles.
Tokenized stocks simplify this to a combination of digital wallets and trading platforms, significantly lowering the entry barrier. This convenience not only helps expand retail participation but may also open up previously inaccessible investment channels for emerging market investors.
Even more promising is that when these tokenized assets enter the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, they will not only serve as investment targets but can also become underlying tools for lending, liquidity pools, and yield generation. For investors looking to build leverage or hedging strategies through DeFi combinations, the ability to directly access US stocks or ETFs on-chain will greatly expand their operational toolbox. This combination of "financialization of securities" and "on-chain composability" is seen by many industry insiders as a significant point of financial innovation in the next phase.
Despite the optimistic industry sentiment, regulatory uncertainty remains an unavoidable reality constraint. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has warned that some tokenized stock products may mislead investors, as most do not come with voting rights or dividend rights.
This means they are closer to derivatives rather than true equity. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has also emphasized in public statements that the issuance of tokenized stocks falls under the category of securities and must comply with federal legal frameworks, including disclosure obligations and investor protection.
According to Anton Golub, Chief Business Officer of the crypto exchange Freedx, some tokenized stocks are merely a form of packaging rather than actual stocks, "You are not buying Tesla stock. You are purchasing a token that tracks Tesla. This token is issued by an offshore special purpose vehicle (SPV) or institution, which holds the actual underlying stock."
Currently, the tokenized stock market is still in its early stages, with limited trading depth, large bid-ask spreads, and occasional price deviations from spot prices, which are difficult to eliminate in the short term. However, as more platforms enter, market makers expand liquidity pools, and institutional investors gradually participate, market capacity and efficiency are expected to improve rapidly. For the financial industry seeking new growth stories in a new cycle, tokenized stocks are undoubtedly a long-term experiment worth betting on.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
