What is a tokenized stock?

An on-chain wrapper that represents a share of a publicly listed company. The wrapper is issued by a regulated entity that holds the actual share in a segregated account, and it trades on public blockchains against stablecoins.

Why is the 15% RWA market cap share notable?

Because the move happened fast. Tokenized equities barely registered inside the RWA sector a year ago. Crossing 15% puts the category behind only tokenized Treasuries and private credit as an RWA vertical.

Can US retail buy tokenized stocks?

In most cases, no. The largest issuers restrict US persons under securities law, and the SEC has not approved a domestically issued tokenized equity product. Non-US retail is the primary end market today.

Does buying a tokenized stock give voting rights?

Usually no. Most wrappers give economic exposure, including dividends passed through by the issuer, but voting rights stay with the custodial entity holding the underlying share.

Tokenized Stocks Cross 15% of RWA Market Cap in On-Chain Equity Push

Tokenized stocks pushed past 15% of the total real-world asset market capitalization, CryptoBriefing reported Thursday. The move puts on-chain equity products behind only tokenized Treasuries and private credit inside the broader RWA sector, and it caps a run that has taken the category from a rounding error twelve months ago into one of the fastest-growing corners of tokenization.

By Clara Hoffmann· AI-assisted· L2 & scaling

What happened

Tokenized stocks crossed 15% of the total real-world asset market cap, CryptoBriefing reported Thursday, citing on-chain data on the sector's composition. The category covers on-chain wrappers of listed equities, typically issued by regulated entities in Europe or offshore jurisdictions and backed one-to-one by shares held with a broker or custodian. Holders trade the wrapper on public blockchains, in most cases against stablecoins, while the underlying share sits in a segregated account.

That share of the RWA pie has moved sharply. A year ago tokenized equities barely registered against tokenized Treasuries, which have anchored on-chain RWA growth since BlackRock's BUIDL fund launched in early 2024. The shift reflects both new entrants and heavier issuance from platforms that had already been active, including Backed Finance's xStocks line and equity products from Ondo, Dinari, and Swarm.

Why it matters

Equities are the biggest asset class in the world. Getting even a thin slice of that flow on-chain reshapes the math for RWA as a category. Tokenized Treasuries broke $2B in outstanding supply in 2024 by wrapping short-duration government paper, a market where the yield does the selling. Stocks are a harder sell. There is no coupon, and the shares can already be bought cheaply on a regulated brokerage.

The wrapper still has to earn its cost. It does that in three ways: it settles in seconds, it trades outside US market hours, and it plugs into DeFi. A holder can post a tokenized Apple share as collateral in a lending market, or route it through a DEX at 3 a.m. on a Sunday. Those are functions the traditional pipes do not offer, and they explain why the growth curve looks different from the one for tokenized funds.

Tokenized Stocks Cross 15% of RWA Market Cap in On-Chain Equity Push

What happened

Why it matters

Market impact

What to watch

Disclaimer

Key takeaways

Frequently asked

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