Earlier this month, Robinhood (HOOD) expanded its tokenized stock offering beyond European users, and Coinbase (COIN) also plans to offer stock tokens. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the backbone of the US securities markets, has begun testing tokenized securities infrastructure, while Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have also launched tokenization initiatives.
This speaks to a growing belief that tokenization – the process of representing traditional assets as blockchain-based tokens – could improve capital markets with faster settlement, around-the-clock trading and more efficient movement of assets. Citi estimates that tokenized securities could become a $5.5 trillion market by 2030, including $2.6 trillion in tokenized stocks.
To date, tokenized stock platforms have largely focused on replicating U.S. on-chain markets, offering blockchain-based versions of popular stocks like Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), and Tesla (TSLA). xStocks’ expansion into overseas markets gives investors access to a broader universe of companies, including high-flying Asian AI supply chain companies that have become popular among global retail traders.
The GTN partnership marks the next step for xStocks, which began last year with tokenized U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds. The platform now supports more than 500 tokenized securities, has processed more than $35 billion in trading volume and has nearly 200,000 holders, according to Payward. The products remain unavailable to US investors.
