BlackRock-Backed Securitize Lists on NYSE, Tokenizes $300 Million of Its Own Shares

Securitize, a U.S. real-world asset platform backed by BlackRock, tokenized its own shares as it debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on July 2. The move highlights how the center of gravity in the RWA industry is shifting from bonds and funds to stocks and exchange-traded funds.

Securitize tokenized about $300 million of its own stock on Solana and Avalanche immediately after listing on the NYSE on July 2, according to industry officials. It is the first company in the U.S. to issue its own listed shares on-chain at the same time as its market debut.

“We have long said that public equities are moving on-chain,” Securitize Chief Executive Officer Carlos Domingo said. “There is no stronger proof of that conviction than tokenizing our own shares on the first day of trading.”

The listing drew market attention as the first such move in the U.S. Shares rose more than 16% intraday on July 2 before closing at $12.30, up 4.41% from the previous close.

Securitize’s listing also comes as U.S. rules evolve. The New York Stock Exchange revised its internal rules in May to allow trading in tokenized stocks. The exchange said tokenized shares should carry the same rights and protections as conventional equities.

“We believe our market can embrace tokenization while continuing to provide the benefits and safeguards of the National Market System,” the NYSE said.

The listing also reflects a broader shift in the RWA industry. What had been concentrated in U.S. Treasuries and funds is now expanding into equities and ETFs. “RWA is one of the fastest-growing areas in digital assets, and the early market was led by U.S. Treasuries and money market funds,” Hong Jin-hyun, an analyst at Samsung Securities, said. “More recently, the asset classes have expanded quickly into private credit, private equity, stocks and ETFs.”

The tokenized stock market is also growing rapidly. Citi said in a recent report that the global market for tokenized equities will expand from about $17 billion this year to $5.5 trillion by 2030. The bank expects roughly 10% of the U.S. Treasury market and about 3% of U.S.-listed stocks to be tokenized within the next four years.

“The introduction of tokenization into capital markets by DTCC and the NYSE is an important inflection point,” Citi said. “The influence of U.S. financial power and the world’s reserve currency is driving change in the tokenized equity industry.”

Demand is already showing up in the market. Assets under management at bStocks, the stock-trading service operated by global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, topped $1 billion on July 1. That came one month after Binance launched bStocks and began offering trading in about 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs. Some in the industry expect bStocks’ AUM to exceed $10 billion by the end of this year.

Tokenized stocks are also emerging as a potential new battleground for crypto exchanges. That helps explain why exchanges including Binance and Coinbase have recently begun promoting a “super app” vision spanning multiple asset classes. “Demand for tokenized stocks is rising steadily, driven by 24-hour trading and broader access to investing,” an industry official said. “For exchanges, tokenized equities could become a next-generation revenue source that offsets the recent slowdown in crypto trading volumes.”