Tokenized Stocks: Crypto’s Next $5T Opportunity? SEC, Nasdaq, Congress Move

Are Tokenized Stocks Crypto’s Next $5T Opportunity? Nasdaq, SEC, and Congress All Move at Once

Stocks represented as digital tokens have now reached a total value of over $1 billion, and crypto expert Tanaka believes many investors don’t fully grasp the importance of this milestone.

According to Tanaka, tokenized stocks are likely to be the next big trend in the market. In a recent post on X, Tanaka highlighted that this innovation addresses a significant issue: limited access to investment opportunities.

As a crypto investor, I’ve been really encouraged by the recent developments. Just in the last three weeks, the SEC gave the green light to trading tokenized securities on Nasdaq, which is huge! And Congress actually held a really important hearing all about tokenization – it felt like a major step forward for the space.

The Access Problem Driving Real Demand

Investing in U.S. stocks has traditionally been difficult for international investors due to issues like needing brokers, dealing with intermediaries, and even outright bans in some countries. Tokenized stocks offer a solution by allowing people around the world to directly own a piece of U.S. stocks on the blockchain, cutting out those traditional barriers.

Tanaka’s argument is that this is a market responding to genuine, unmet demand.

What the Data Actually Shows

As a researcher tracking this space, the data I’m seeing is quite compelling. Currently, tokenized stocks have between $907 million and $1 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL), and we’re consistently seeing around $2.5 to $2.7 billion in monthly trading volume. Looking at the wider Real World Asset (RWA) market, it’s reached $26.58 billion, which is about 3 to 4 times the size it was last year. This indicates significant growth in this area.

I’ve been watching this crypto closely, and it’s really encouraging to see the community growing. We’ve now got around 180,000 to 200,000 wallets holding it, and a solid 85,000 to 90,000 of those are actually being used for transactions. That level of activity is a good sign!

Tanaka observed that the data clearly indicates growth in this sector, which is still developing and expanding.

Who Controls the Infrastructure

As a researcher following the tokenized securities market, I’m seeing some significant developments. Right now, Ondo Finance is the clear leader, controlling between 55% and 65% of the market. What’s really exciting is the entry of major players like Franklin Templeton – with over $1.5 trillion in assets – who have already launched tokenized funds and are now working on tokenized ETFs. Plus, exchanges and infrastructure companies are actively building the systems needed to allow 24/7 trading of these tokenized equities.

Nasdaq and Kraken are teaming up to create a system for trading tokenized stocks around the clock. This new system will use Kraken’s existing xStocks technology, which has already handled over $25 billion in trades.

On March 18th, after nine days of consideration, the SEC officially gave Nasdaq permission to let both traditional and tokenized shares trade together, using the same symbols, prices, and ownership benefits.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) took a significant leap forward by collaborating with Securitize to create a complete platform for handling tokenized securities. As a first for the exchange, Securitize was designated as a digital transfer agent, empowering it to issue stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) directly as tokens on the blockchain.

A recent House Financial Services Committee hearing signaled strong, bipartisan agreement that tokenized securities will happen – it’s no longer a matter of if, but when. The CLARITY Act, which aims to create legal rules for this new market, is expected to be debated in the Senate in late April.

Looking at the overall potential market makes the opportunity even more significant. The global stock market is worth around $110 to $115 trillion. According to Tanaka’s research, if just 1-5% of that market moves to blockchain technology, it could create an opportunity worth $1 to $5 trillion.

When it comes to retail and tokenized stocks, the real opportunity lies in the systems being created to support them, not the stocks themselves. Tanaka is closely following ONDO, MPL, CFG, and POLYX, believing these tokens are central to building that infrastructure.

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2026-03-30 13:24