Tokens as Assets: Which Type of Tokenized Stock Is Right for You?
**Tokenized Stocks: Three Models, Which Suits You?**
For investors outside the US, accessing stocks like SpaceX or NVIDIA is often difficult, requiring compliant brokers and cross-border transfers. Blockchain offers an alternative through tokenized stocks, but this term encompasses three distinct models with vastly different ownership, voting rights, and economic benefits.
The first model offers full, direct ownership. Platforms like Superstate register shares directly on-chain (e.g., Solana), with holders listed on the official shareholder registry, granting full voting rights, dividends, and legal status.
The second model sacrifices direct ownership for DeFi composability. Issuers like Backed and Ondo use offshore Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to issue tokens 1:1 backed by real shares. Holders gain price exposure and automated dividend accruals (via token balance increases), and tokens can be used as collateral in DeFi protocols. However, this introduces SPV counterparty risk, as seen in the PreStocks collapse.
The third model abandons ownership entirely for pure price speculation. Perpetual futures platforms like TradeXYZ (on Hyperliquid) and Ostium create synthetic markets using price oracles and funding rates to track stock prices. They require no underlying shares, enabling rapid listing (e.g., SpaceX pre-IPO) and high leverage, which explains their trading volumes being 4-5x higher than tokenized spot markets.
The core insight is that tokens derive value without needing to replicate full stock ownership. Most retail investors rarely exercise voting rights. These three models cater to different needs: direct ownership for institutions, DeFi-composable tokens for on-chain users, and perpetuals for leveraged, speculative traders. Tokenization is not a mere stock substitute but a new class of layered financial instruments.
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