Tokenized stocks hit $1.2B as exchanges and institutions accelerate adoption

Published: 2025-12-30 02:00:59 |

Tokenized stocks have reached a combined market capitalization of about $1.2 billion, driven by rapid growth in September and December as new products and improved onchain liquidity raised demand. Institutional and exchange-led activity is accelerating adoption: Backed Finance launched roughly 60 xStocks on Ethereum with distribution on platforms including Kraken and Bybit; Securitize has announced a compliant onchain trading model using direct share ownership; Ondo Finance plans to list tokenized US stocks and ETFs on Solana in early 2026; and Nasdaq has filed with the U.S. SEC to offer tokenized stocks. Coinbase has signalled intent to offer stock trading, and Nasdaq calls tokenization a strategic priority. Proponents cite benefits such as 24/7 trading, faster settlement and fractional ownership. For crypto traders, implications include rising liquidity and new tradable instruments across chains (notably ETH and SOL ecosystems), increased institutional participation and greater regulatory scrutiny — factors likely to expand market depth and onchain order flow while creating new arbitrage and custody considerations.

Bullish

The news points to growing institutional and infrastructure commitment to tokenized equities, which should increase demand for onchain trading services and related blockchain activity. Short term, announcements and product launches (Backed Finance xStocks, Securitize compliance model, Nasdaq SEC filing, Ondo’s Solana roadmap) may boost trading volumes and onchain liquidity as traders and arbitrageurs explore new instruments — a bullish signal for tokens tied to these ecosystems (notably ETH and SOL) and platforms that provide custody and trading rails. Over the medium to long term, broader adoption could deepen liquidity, lower settlement friction, and expand accessible market participants, supporting higher baseline activity for crypto markets. Risks that could temper upside include regulatory pushback, custody or legal challenges over share ownership claims, and slow secondary market development; but the overall directional impact is positive given multiple large players committing resources.