Source: Delphi Digital
Compiled and Edited: BitpushNews
In January, the scale of tokenized treasury bonds exceeded $10 billion, with BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Ondo, and Circle leading the market. Government bonds were the first to be tokenized because they have standardized instruments and liquid markets, making the process relatively straightforward.
But the real challenge lies with stocks.
Stocks represent shareholders, who possess voting rights and legal rights that must be enforced. Tokenization projects have all hit the same wall: you can mint a token representing a stock, but you do not actually own the share.
Not all tokenized stocks operate in the same way. Tokens issued by platforms like xStocks, Backed, and similar are backed 1:1 by shares held by a custodian. Investors gain price exposure and can trade 24/7, but ownership remains with the custodian.
Custodian vs. Transfer Agent
Superstate and Securitize are registered as transfer agents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), directly recording token holders on the company's shareholder registry. In September 2025, when Galaxy Digital was tokenized via Superstate's Opening Bell platform, GLXY token holders became genuine shareholders with voting rights and dividend entitlements. The blockchain was integrated with the shareholder registry.
Securitize has adopted a similar approach on the fund side. As the transfer agent behind BlackRock's BUIDL, they manage one of the largest tokenized treasury funds. They are also bringing institutional-grade private funds on-chain, lowering investment barriers and expanding access to alternative assets that were previously out of reach for most investors.
Recent guidance from SEC staff clarifies this distinction. Issuer-led tokenization through registered transfer agents creates ownership with full shareholder rights. Custodian-backed tokens may face different regulatory treatment and limitations compared to direct shareholder registration.
Genuine shareholder status enables functionalities that custodian-backed token structures cannot achieve.
Shareholders can trade 24/7 on supported trading platforms without waiting for the Toronto Stock Exchange to open. Shareholders of Forward Industries can pledge their equity as collateral on Kamino. Even if shares are deposited in lending pools, Superstate tracks beneficial ownership, ensuring dividends are distributed to the correct holders regardless of where the tokens are stored.
Backpack Exchange and Superstate have announced plans to enable cross-margining between tokenized stocks and crypto assets. Once live, traders can hold both tokenized stocks and SOL in the same account and use both as margin. Traditional brokers typically cannot offer this service because stocks and cryptocurrencies exist in completely separate custody and clearing systems.
This is unprecedented capital efficiency. Shareholders can obtain liquidity without selling, hedge across asset classes in a single account, and trade globally without settlement delays.
Raising Capital Without Underwriters
Superstate's direct issuance program allows publicly traded companies to reduce reliance on traditional underwriters for on-chain fundraising. Investors pay with stablecoins, shares are minted directly into their wallets, and companies receive funds instantly, with no cash settlement delays.
Traditional equity fundraising involves underwriters, roadshows, and settlement delays that can last weeks. Direct issuance compresses this into a single transaction, with the shareholder registry updated in real time.
The first issuances are expected later this year, likely from small-cap public companies that find traditional capital market infrastructure too costly relative to their trading size.
Missing Pieces
Liquidity remains fragmented. Tokenized stocks exist on multiple chains with no unified order book connecting them. Trading volumes are small compared to traditional markets, limiting the scale investors can move without impacting prices.
KYC requirements create friction with DeFi's permissionless architecture. Only whitelisted addresses can hold tokenized stocks, meaning they cannot be integrated into every lending protocol or liquidity pool. Issuers need to verify investors before they receive shares, and this verification must persist as tokens move between wallets.
Outside the U.S., regulatory frameworks vary significantly. SEC guidance applies to matters involving U.S. federal securities laws, but Europe, Asia, and other markets have their own rules, which may not align.
Traditional exchanges are watching closely. Nasdaq has filed an application with the SEC to trade tokenized securities. But until regulators and existing participants figure out how this fits into the existing market structure, actual exchange support for on-chain stocks remains pending.
Conclusion
Tokenized treasury bonds have proven that this mechanism can work at scale. Now, the stock space is catching up, achieving genuine compliance and true DeFi integration.
The market is betting that the transfer agent model, which records token holders as actual shareholders, will outperform indirect ownership structures that only provide price exposure.
Stocks can now be settled instantly, traded 24/7, and used as collateral in markets that never close. Whether this becomes the standard for how stocks operate or remains a niche play for crypto-native companies depends on whether liquidity and regulatory clarity can keep up with the infrastructure already in place.
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