Securitize Declares Native Tokenization as the Ultimate On-Chain Securities Future
Wall Street's paper pushers just got served a blockchain eviction notice.
Securitize drops the mic on legacy finance with its uncompromising stance: native tokenization isn't just better—it's the only legitimate way to put securities on-chain. No half-measures, no synthetic knock-offs—just pure digital ownership baked into the protocol layer.
The 'my way or the highway' approach exposes an industry still clinging to analog workarounds. While traditional players slap blockchain band-aids on creaky systems, native tokenization rebuilds the entire financial stack from the ground up—settlement, custody, and compliance all speaking the same cryptographic language.
One hedge fund manager was overheard complaining, 'This ruins our favorite game—charging fees for moving imaginary numbers between spreadsheets.'
Regulators caution against synthetic token offerings
Amid the scramble in tokenization, US regulators grow increasingly weary of how securities are being redesigned on-chain, especially when the technology ostentatiously obscures legal responsibilities.
This week, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce released a statement reminding the industry and retail investors that tokenized assets are still subject to securities laws. She cautioned that blockchain’s technological properties do not alchemically alter the legal nature of an asset.
“As powerful as blockchain technology is, it does not have magical abilities to transform the nature of the underlying asset,” she wrote. “Tokenized securities are still securities.”
Her remarks come at a time of mounting anxiety that forays by non-native token models, including those recently launched by Robinhood and Kraken, are misguided.
Robinhood’s tokens debuted last month on Ethereum’s Arbitrum network and don’t correspond to direct ownership in stocks like OpenAI or Tesla. Instead, they provide “indirect exposure” to private companies via tokenized contracts. The tokens are not tradeable off the platform, are unavailable to US customers, and are subject to full KYC (Know Your Customer) checks.
Kraken has gone a different direction. It’s xStocks, which are released through the Switzerland-headquartered company Backed, are permissionless and can be traded on decentralized exchanges. But US investors remain locked out again, underscoring the tough compliance maze.
Lawyers such as Anthony Tu-Sekine, head of the blockchain group at law firm Seward & Kissel, pointed out that the legal boundaries remain clear despite technological developments.
Tokenization is the future, but it’s time to learn some hard lessons
Interest in the concept of tokenization has spiked this year as platforms race to bridge the world of traditional finance and that of crypto. However, previous experiments demonstrate that shortcuts or vague models can backfire.
Crypto exchange giants such as Binance and one-time FTX have attempted to launch tokenized stock products in recent years. Such offerings were never realized due to regulatory implications.
Abra, a digital asset platform, launched tokens based on contracts attached to US stocks and ETFs in 2019. However, after the SEC and the CFTC opened an inquiry, the company stopped the program and agreed to pay $150,000 in penalties to each organization for selling unregistered securities and breaking laws governing derivatives.
Still, regulators have been more open lately. In May, the SEC held a roundtable on tokenization that gathered a range of voices from the crypto and financial sectors.
SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda said the session was part of an effort to understand the evolving market better. He noted that, in recent history, people seemed to have forgotten one of the most basic principles—that investors and issuers possess valuable perspectives and experiences.
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