Written by: Odaily Planet Daily
Recently, every time I open Twitter, the screen is filled with discussions about tokenized US stocks. It is not an exaggeration to say that if you haven't been discussing this topic in the past few days, you might be out of touch with the market.
"US stocks on-chain" is the biggest hot topic in the market this week. Robinhood has launched stock tokenization services in Europe, while xStocks has also simultaneously landed on Kraken and Bybit; Solana DEX and the Arbitrum ecosystem have begun listing trading pairs like AAPLx and TSLAx, rapidly spreading this new narrative of stock tokenization.
However, if you only see the hype and haven't understood the structure, you might become a victim in this narrative.
In my view, stock tokenization is essentially not about "issuing a token," but rather a stress test for on-chain finance: Can the Web3 world truly support the issuance, trading, pricing, and redemption of mainstream financial assets?
Not just hype, but a structural stress test for on-chain finance
From my perspective, our industry narrative is continuously evolving. As early as 2019, both Binance and FTX attempted to tokenize US stocks, but were ultimately halted by regulatory intervention. The Mirror Protocol simulated US stock prices with synthetic assets, but also perished alongside the collapse of Terra and SEC regulations. This is not a new concept; it was simply a time when the industry had not yet matured.
Today's stock tokenization is not a grassroots experiment, but a compliant path led by licensed institutions like Robinhood and Backed Finance. This is a crucial turning point.
Taking Robinhood as an example, its newly launched stock tokenization service in Europe follows an unprecedented "broker-dealer self-operation + on-chain issuance" closed-loop path.
They are not just posting a price on-chain; instead, Robinhood is licensed in the EU, purchasing actual US stocks, and issuing 1:1 mapped tokens on-chain. From custody and issuance to clearing, settlement, and user interaction, the entire process is integrated, making the trading experience essentially a combination of a securities account and a wallet.
Initially, they deployed these tokens on Arbitrum to ensure that on-chain trading speed and costs are controllable, and they plan to migrate to a self-built Robinhood Chain later, meaning they will also control the entire infrastructure.
Although voting rights cannot be opened yet to avoid governance-related regulations, the overall structure is already taking shape: it is like establishing an almost independently functioning "on-chain securities trading system" at the structural level.
For the crypto industry, this is the first time we see a traditional internet brokerage not only having autonomy on the issuance side but also deconstructing the on-chain structure of assets.
From grassroots experiments to compliant closed loops
The recent surge in stock tokenization is not a coincidence, as I have repeatedly pointed out. Essentially, it is the resonance of several core variables occurring at the same time. The so-called timing, location, and harmony of people is probably just that.
First, there has been a loosening of regulatory measures and a clear direction. For example, Europe’s MiCA has officially landed, and the US SEC is no longer hammering down indiscriminately, starting to release signals that "negotiations can happen, and actions can be taken."
Robinhood's ability to quickly launch stock token services in the EU relies on the securities license it obtained in Lithuania; xStocks being integrated by both Kraken and Bybit is also dependent on the compliant structure it built in Switzerland and Jersey.
At the same time, on-chain funds are indeed looking for new asset outlets, and the structure of on-site funds has changed. The gap between traditional financial markets and non-MEME crypto markets will only continue to narrow.
Looking at the present, there are a bunch of projects on-chain without fundamentals but boasting extremely high FDV, with liquidity piled up and nowhere to go. More cautious funds are starting to seek "anchored and logical" asset allocation outlets. At this time, traditional players like Robinhood and xStocks, with their compliant structures and trading experiences, bring attractiveness to stock tokens. They are familiar, stable, have narrative space, and can be paired with stablecoins and DeFi.
The integration of TradFi and Crypto has deepened significantly. From BlackRock to JPMorgan, from UBS to MAS, traditional financial giants are no longer standing by and watching; they are genuinely building chains, running pilots, and engaging in infrastructure development. As the most mainstream and recognizable asset, stocks will clearly become a priority choice for tokenization.
Is the on-chain migration of traditional assets an opportunity for crypto or a threat to projects?
Jiayi's subjective viewpoint:
Looking ahead, stock tokenization is unlikely to follow an explosive growth curve, but it may become a highly resilient path for infrastructure evolution in the Web3 world.
The significance of this narrative lies in its ability to leverage two important structural changes: first, the boundaries of assets are genuinely beginning to migrate on-chain; second, the traditional financial system is willing to organize part of its trading and custody processes in an on-chain manner. Once these two things are established, they become irreversible.
So, is it good or bad for stocks to come and compete for liquidity in crypto projects?
In my view, this is a typical double-edged sword. It brings higher quality assets but will also subtly rewrite the flow structure of on-chain funds.
From a positive perspective:
The entry of traditional finance's "blue-chip assets" provides new outlets for on-chain funds and adds some options for "stable asset" allocation. In a market where narratives shift too quickly and funds wander long-term, these clearly structured assets with real-world anchors help liquidity regain the basic coordinates of "where to allocate and what can be allocated."
This will also bring about a "catalyst effect." The strong narrative asset of US stock tokenization raises the entire on-chain benchmark, which will inevitably push the overall quality of Web3 projects upward. Let the junk projects be eliminated by the market, to be honest.
Crypto players can directly purchase stocks in a Crypto Native manner, reducing the liquidity drain of US stocks on the large pool of crypto.
Conversely:
It will also put pressure on crypto-native projects. Not only will the narrative be stolen, but the structure of on-chain funds and user preferences will also be gradually reshaped. Especially when the liquidity of tokenized stocks rises and starts to run perpetual contracts, lending, and portfolio allocations, it will directly compete for stablecoin traffic, mainstream users, and attention on-chain.
For project parties: financing will become more difficult. When tokenized private equity like AAPLx, TSLAx, and potentially OpenAI or SpaceX appears in the on-chain asset pool, investors' and users' intuitive judgments about "what is worth investing in" and "what has a pricing anchor" will shift.
Stock tokenization prompts us to rethink: Is Web3 truly a system capable of supporting mainstream assets and real trading behaviors? Can we use an open financial structure to rebuild a securities system with lower friction and higher transparency than traditional markets?
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