According to a recent report by The Information, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering allowing blockchain-based versions of popular stocks (for instance, Tesla or Nvidia) to trade on popular exchanges.
The tokenized versions of stocks would be available for trading on approved cryptocurrency platforms.
However, it is worth noting that the novel and innovative idea is still in the early stages, meaning that there is no guarantee that it will end up being implemented.
Recently, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated that the regulator was willing to work with tokenized initiatives.
xStocks (with disclaimers)
Meanwhile, several cryptocurrency exchanges already offer xStocks. Kraken launched tokenized equities on Solana earlier this year. The offering includes popular stocks (such as Tesla) as well as some ETFs. It was later expanded to BNB Chain.
In September, Kraken brought its tokenized equities offering to the Ethereum mainnet.
KuCoin and Bybit have also launched xStocks on their respective platforms.
However, it is worth noting that many of these offerings are not currently available in the US. Moreover, there are some concerns about ownership and rights since token holders do not have full shareholder rights.
Hence, the SEC's formal approval for tokenized stocks could potentially end up being a game-changer for the budding market niche. It would essentially turn these stocks into a regulated securities product, and U.S.-regulated broker dealers would be able to offer them.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team