
Dependency Trap: The Risk Behind AI Convenience
Today, anyone can spin up a prototype by chatting with a large language model or generate images without a design degree. Yet this super-power can vanish overnight. We neither own nor control it. A handful of corporations—OpenAI, Anthropic, Google—own the racks, the GPUs and the switch that powers most online services. We rent their brains. Picture the morning they pull the plug: a server hiccup freezes your product; a geofence locks out your country; a price hike prices out your start-up. In...

Smart "Gatekeeper": How Conditional Liquidity is Rewriting Solana's Trading Rules?
Conditional Liquidity is a major innovation in the DeFi space aimed at addressing the shortcomings of traditional passive liquidity models, particularly on high-performance public chains like Solana. It seeks to redefine trading fairness and efficiency through intelligent rules. The Dilemma of Traditional DEXs Under the conventional Automated Market Maker (AMM) model, liquidity pools are open 24/7, making regular users vulnerable to "toxic order flow" such as sandwich attacks and front-runnin...

Forget Hyperliquid — The Next Wave of Perp DEXs Will Be on Solana
The next wave of growth for perpetual futures decentralized exchanges may emerge within the Solana ecosystem, not on Hyperliquid. The core arguments are as follows: * Architectural Advantages: Solana allows for application-specific optimizations at the validator level. Running a dedicated trading engine within validator nodes can achieve a sub-second trading experience comparable to Hyperliquid. Compared to Ethereum L2s, which are burdened by technical debt like centralized sequencers, transa...
<100 subscribers

Dependency Trap: The Risk Behind AI Convenience
Today, anyone can spin up a prototype by chatting with a large language model or generate images without a design degree. Yet this super-power can vanish overnight. We neither own nor control it. A handful of corporations—OpenAI, Anthropic, Google—own the racks, the GPUs and the switch that powers most online services. We rent their brains. Picture the morning they pull the plug: a server hiccup freezes your product; a geofence locks out your country; a price hike prices out your start-up. In...

Smart "Gatekeeper": How Conditional Liquidity is Rewriting Solana's Trading Rules?
Conditional Liquidity is a major innovation in the DeFi space aimed at addressing the shortcomings of traditional passive liquidity models, particularly on high-performance public chains like Solana. It seeks to redefine trading fairness and efficiency through intelligent rules. The Dilemma of Traditional DEXs Under the conventional Automated Market Maker (AMM) model, liquidity pools are open 24/7, making regular users vulnerable to "toxic order flow" such as sandwich attacks and front-runnin...

Forget Hyperliquid — The Next Wave of Perp DEXs Will Be on Solana
The next wave of growth for perpetual futures decentralized exchanges may emerge within the Solana ecosystem, not on Hyperliquid. The core arguments are as follows: * Architectural Advantages: Solana allows for application-specific optimizations at the validator level. Running a dedicated trading engine within validator nodes can achieve a sub-second trading experience comparable to Hyperliquid. Compared to Ethereum L2s, which are burdened by technical debt like centralized sequencers, transa...
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in recent years, an increasing number of institutions and regulators in the traditional financial sector have begun to accept cryptocurrencies, while more and more projects in the crypto space are seeking compliance to gain higher exposure. Building takes time, but the outbreak can happen in an instant. With the advent of the Trump administration, the shift in the SEC's attitude, the recent passage of the stablecoin bill, and the inclusion of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in the S&P 500 Index—among other trend indicators—projects and brokerage firms that had been preparing for a long time have started to unreservedly launch security tokenization services, and "on-chain NASDAQs" have emerged like mushrooms after rain.
Buying NVIDIA on Kraken: What’s the Difference from Traditional Brokerage Trading?
Where Else Can You Buy "On-Chain Stocks"?
Not only are "crypto" concept stocks popular among investors in the US stock market, but the tokenization of US stocks and securities in the crypto space has also recently sparked a wave of enthusiasm.
Buying NVIDIA on Kraken: What’s the Difference from Traditional Brokerage Trading?
Comparison of Security Tokenization Projects in the Crypto Space (Chart by BlockBeats)
XStocks
Kraken, a well-established cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2011, announced on May 22 that it will collaborate with Backed Finance to launch a tokenized stock and ETF trading service called "xStocks". The initial offering will cover over 50 US-listed stocks and ETFs, including Apple, Tesla, and NVIDIA. The project will be exclusively issued on the Solana blockchain, which has received strong support from Solana's official team. Several team members from Kraken and Backed also appeared at the Solana Accelerate 2025 event yesterday to share their views on the future of security tokenization.
Bybit
Founded in 2018, Bybit does not issue tokens in the stock tokenization field but supports the trading of tokenized assets as a trading channel. It partners with retail platforms like Swarm to provide a marketplace for stock or ETF tokens. Bybit offers stock trading tools based on Contracts for Difference (CFDs), allowing users to participate in stock price fluctuations without holding the underlying stocks. A unique feature is the ability to open up to 5x leverage.
Bybit also supports the trading of RWA tokens (such as TRAC) through copy trading functions and an NFT market, targeting selected users to invest in tokenized assets. It has now opened trading for 78 selected stocks, including Apple, Tesla, and NVIDIA. The trading fee is $0.04 USDT per share, with a minimum charge of $5 USDT per order.
Ondo
Ondo Finance is one of the most comprehensive projects in the crypto "security tokenization" space, covering asset issuance, liquidity management, and underlying infrastructure. Its core products include two asset-backed tokens, OUSG and USDY, as well as liquidity protocol Nexus, lending platform Flux, and the upcoming compliance-permitted chain, Ondo Chain.
In February 2025, Ondo held its first Summit in New York, officially disclosing the design of its GM ("Global Markets") platform. The goal is to tokenize thousands of global public securities (such as Apple, Tesla, S&P 500 ETFs) and enable 24/7 trading and instant settlement on-chain. All GM platform tokens are backed 1:1 by physical securities, but the issuance and redemption processes are embedded with compliance controls, targeting markets outside the US and aiming to create a "Wall Street 2.0."
Buying NVIDIA on Kraken: What’s the Difference from Traditional Brokerage Trading?
To support its grand strategy, Ondo also announced the launch of the institutional-compliant chain, Ondo Chain. The chain uses a semi-permissioned architecture, allowing anyone to issue and develop, but with validation nodes operated by well-known financial institutions to ensure compliance and security. The chain natively supports financial operations such as dividend payments and stock splits, and introduces an on-chain reserve proof mechanism to ensure that tokens are fully backed by assets. The goal is to become the infrastructure for future on-chain prime brokerage and cross-asset collateralization, among other core traditional financial operations. On May 19, Kinexys, a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, executed the first cross-chain "Delivery vs Payment" transaction with Ondo Chain.
Although GM and Ondo Chain have not yet officially launched, the core assets of the Ondo ecosystem, OUSG and USDY, have reached scales of $545 million and $634 million, respectively. OUSG is mainly held by institutions on Ethereum, while USDY has shown higher retail user adoption on Solana.
It is worth noting that the majority of Ondo's team members come from top institutions such as Goldman Sachs and McKinsey. They actively engage in communication and coordination with US regulatory agencies such as the SEC and CFTC, deeply involved in policy-making, compliance design, and public relations. This includes inviting former Congressman Patrick McHenry to join the advisory board, fully demonstrating their ambition and resource integration capabilities to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the crypto industry.
Securitize
In the increasingly compliant crypto industry, there are also companies that have strong connections with the government and brokers. For example, Cantor, which is responsible for 99% of Tether's Treasury bond purchases, is one of the 24 primary dealers of the US Department of the Treasury. Cantor directly participates in the issuance and trading of Treasury bonds and maintains close business relations with the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. Their cooperation enabled Tether to achieve $2 billion in Treasury income in mid-2023 alone.
The combination of Cantor and Tether is not unique. BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, established the BUIDL fund in 2024. This year, with an asset management scale of over $2.5 billion, it has become a leader in the RWA track. The designated custodian of BUIDL is Securitize, which was founded in 2017 and specializes in blockchain technology and digital asset securitization.
Unlike traditional crypto companies, Securitize's management is filled with Wall Street executives. In 2021, Securitize hired Brett Redfearn, the former director of the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets, who still serves as the Chief Executive Officer's senior strategic advisor and chair of the advisory board. Securitize also has close ties with newly appointed SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, who joined Securitize in 2019, served on the advisory board and board of directors, and held call options worth up to $500,000. He only stepped down in February of this year. Coincidentally, in 2019, Securitize became a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and an operator of an SEC-regulated Alternative Trading System (ATS).
On the eve of this "compliance," Securitize may also become one of the best pathways to bridge crypto and traditional finance, thanks to its compliant "background."
Taking Food from the Tiger's Mouth?
The signs of brokers participating in crypto even began much earlier, with several stock exchanges attempting to integrate crypto business years ago.
Comparison of Data Before and After Brokerages Entered the "Crypto Concept" (Chart by BlockBeats)
Toro, an Israeli fintech company founded in 2007, first launched Bitcoin trading services in 2013. Subsequently, eToro continuously expanded its digital asset product line, gradually adding support for trading major cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin.
Robinhood is perhaps the most well-known brokerage firm in the Crypto circle, having entered the crypto space as early as 2018 and gaining widespread recognition during the Trump Coin period. After announcing a $200 million acquisition of European digital asset trading platform Bitstamp, Robinhood entered Singapore in March of this year, leveraging Bitstamp's regulatory approval to integrate into Singapore's crypto-friendly framework. Bitstamp has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), providing Robinhood with significant regulatory advantages and simplifying its market entry process.
By prioritizing regulatory compliance, Robinhood differentiates itself from offshore platforms operating in legal gray areas, which is also one of the advantages of traditional brokerages over some Crypto CEXs in promoting global tokenization of securities.
Robinhood's expansion in Singapore is part of its larger international growth strategy. Robinhood had previously launched crypto trading in Europe and initiated stock options trading in the UK. With the expansion of its licensing scope, Robinhood is now offering comprehensive services, including digital finance and traditional finance, in multiple regions.
This month, Robinhood also accelerated its process of securities market tokenization. On May 8, Robinhood announced plans to launch a blockchain-based platform for trading US assets in Europe. On May 20, Robinhood submitted a 42-page proposal to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), suggesting the establishment of a federal framework for "RWA tokenization" to modernize the US securities market.
It's not just Europe and the US; some brokerages in Hong Kong also began exploring this area last year. In June 2024, several Hong Kong brokerages started to provide trading services for virtual assets such as Bitcoin. Brokerages like Victory Securities, Tiger Brokers, and Interactive Brokers all launched corresponding services. Some brokerages are placing greater emphasis on their Crypto business, estimating that related income from their crypto operations could account for about a quarter of the company's revenue.
On May 7, 2025, Futu Securities also announced the official launch of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT deposit services. Users can now deposit funds, trade cryptocurrencies and traditional financial assets, including Hong Kong, US, and Japanese stocks, options, ETFs, funds, and bonds through Futu NiuNiu, quickly switching between virtual and traditional asset markets.
Failed Attempts and the Dilemma of Offshore Platforms
In fact, around 2020, "tokenized stocks" had already been boldly tested by some crypto platforms. This model aims to map traditional stocks into tradable digital assets through blockchain technology, breaking many of the time, geographical, and threshold limitations of traditional financial markets.
In this experiment, FTX was undoubtedly the most aggressive pioneer.
Around 2020, FTX was the first to launch its tokenized stock trading feature. Users could trade tokens of well-known US-listed companies such as Tesla (TSLA) and Apple (AAPL) on its platform. These tokens were issued by its Swiss subsidiary, Canco GmbH, and were linked to real stocks held in custody by a third-party broker, achieving a "1:1 pegged" mapping relationship.
At that time, users could participate in the investment of popular US stocks 24/7 with as little as $1 (similar to the global liquidity absorption plan that NASDAQ wanted to achieve later). In addition to this, users could also redeem actual stocks with tokens, although this process was subject to platform policies and compliance requirements in practice.
Buying NVIDIA on Kraken: What’s the Difference from Traditional Brokerage Trading?
The differences between FTX and Binance's previous tokenized stock trading (Chart by BlockBeats)
To be "compliant," FTX partnered with German financial services firms CM-Equity AG and Digital Assets AG to create a compliance framework that would give these US stock tokens legitimacy and financial connectivity. However, this business did not go far. In November 2022, FTX declared bankruptcy due to serious issues such as fund misappropriation and fraud charges, and its tokenized stock business was also terminated.
In April 2021, Binance also briefly entered the tokenized stock field, launching stock token products settled in its stablecoin BUSD, with the first batch including star stocks such as Coinbase (COIN) and Tesla (TSLA), continuing to promote the fractional investment concept.
However, the challenges faced by Binance were not from the market but from regulatory pressure. Due to the lack of a unified regulatory framework for security tokens, Binance's stock tokens were first questioned by financial regulatory authorities in Italy, Germany, and the UK, who believed they might constitute unauthorized securities issuance or trading activities. Subsequently, Japan, the US, Canada, Thailand, and the Cayman Islands, among other countries, took actions such as investigating, filing criminal lawsuits, or prohibiting the platform from operating within their borders.
On the other hand, as both crypto exchanges and brokerages are chasing the market for security tokenization, discussions have emerged in the community. For "Crypto Native" funds, whether in the ICO era or after experiencing the Memecoin boom, the returns obtained from interpreting companies' PE, PS, business models, and financial reports may be far less than what they were previously good at. This will also lead to Crypto Natives not being very enthusiastic about traditional stocks.
On the other hand, high-net-worth individuals in the traditional field are very interested in the "high returns" of Crypto assets or AI assets, which was something that Crypto CEXs wanted to do before. Now that both sides' businesses are gradually converging, this type of customer will have more trust in traditional brokerage platforms such as Robinhood, eToro, and Futu.
Stablecoins + Securities on Chain: The Liquidity Loop Is Coming?
On May 22, David Sacks, the White House's cryptocurrency and AI czar, said that the stablecoin bill would unlock trillions of dollars for the US Treasury. The day before, the US Senate voted to pass the "cloture motion" for the GENIUS Stablecoin Bill to enter formal deliberation, with at least 15 Democratic senators changing their original stance to vote in favor. The bill will now enter the full deliberation process. Although only the "cloture motion" has been passed and the bill itself has not yet been approved, the market is generally optimistic about the progress of the GENIUS bill. The bill will provide a clear regulatory framework for security tokenization, especially on the basis of stablecoins and RWA tokenization, which may extend to stock tokenization. This will reduce the compliance risks for market participants and attract more institutional investors. Previously, projects such as Backed Finance and Securitize had launched tokenized stocks based on MiFID II and SEC regulations. If the GENIUS bill is passed, it may further accelerate growth.
After stablecoins are regulated, they may reduce the friction of cross-border transactions through blockchain technology and attract global investors to participate in the US market. In fact, many institutions and countries have already begun to respond. On May 17, Moonpay partnered with Mastercard to allow users to use stablecoins at over 150 million locations worldwide that accept Mastercard, with these stablecoins being immediately exchangeable for fiat currency at the point of sale. On May 21, South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung proposed the issuance of a KRW-based stablecoin. Meanwhile, according to The Wall Street Journal, major commercial banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are discussing with Early Warning Services, the operator of the Zelle payment system, and the real-time payment network Clearing House to jointly issue stablecoins.
However, JPMorgan analysts disagree with David Sacks' statement about trillions of dollars. They believe that although the US stablecoin regulatory framework is gradually advancing, the market's prediction that the total supply of stablecoins will triple or quadruple from the current $240 billion to nearly a trillion dollars in the next one to two years is "overly optimistic."
Nevertheless, after years of development, stablecoins now account for 1.1% of the US dollar supply. Due to their high yield and convenience, as well as the important role they may play in the future global security tokenization phase, they have reached a stage that traditional markets can no longer ignore.
Buying NVIDIA on Kraken: What’s the Difference from Traditional Brokerage Trading?
Data from tokenterminal shows the current proportion of major stablecoins.
The "tokenization" revolution in the cryptocurrency space is similar to the transformation of the music industry from physical records to digital music. The process from the copyright disputes caused by Napster to the rise of compliant platforms such as iTunes and Spotify was not easy. But now, as the integration of crypto and securities accelerates, we are standing at the crossroads of this era. This process may also be full of uncertainties and risks, but perhaps a more open, transparent, and efficient new financial era is coming.
in recent years, an increasing number of institutions and regulators in the traditional financial sector have begun to accept cryptocurrencies, while more and more projects in the crypto space are seeking compliance to gain higher exposure. Building takes time, but the outbreak can happen in an instant. With the advent of the Trump administration, the shift in the SEC's attitude, the recent passage of the stablecoin bill, and the inclusion of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in the S&P 500 Index—among other trend indicators—projects and brokerage firms that had been preparing for a long time have started to unreservedly launch security tokenization services, and "on-chain NASDAQs" have emerged like mushrooms after rain.
Buying NVIDIA on Kraken: What’s the Difference from Traditional Brokerage Trading?
Where Else Can You Buy "On-Chain Stocks"?
Not only are "crypto" concept stocks popular among investors in the US stock market, but the tokenization of US stocks and securities in the crypto space has also recently sparked a wave of enthusiasm.
Buying NVIDIA on Kraken: What’s the Difference from Traditional Brokerage Trading?
Comparison of Security Tokenization Projects in the Crypto Space (Chart by BlockBeats)
XStocks
Kraken, a well-established cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2011, announced on May 22 that it will collaborate with Backed Finance to launch a tokenized stock and ETF trading service called "xStocks". The initial offering will cover over 50 US-listed stocks and ETFs, including Apple, Tesla, and NVIDIA. The project will be exclusively issued on the Solana blockchain, which has received strong support from Solana's official team. Several team members from Kraken and Backed also appeared at the Solana Accelerate 2025 event yesterday to share their views on the future of security tokenization.
Bybit
Founded in 2018, Bybit does not issue tokens in the stock tokenization field but supports the trading of tokenized assets as a trading channel. It partners with retail platforms like Swarm to provide a marketplace for stock or ETF tokens. Bybit offers stock trading tools based on Contracts for Difference (CFDs), allowing users to participate in stock price fluctuations without holding the underlying stocks. A unique feature is the ability to open up to 5x leverage.
Bybit also supports the trading of RWA tokens (such as TRAC) through copy trading functions and an NFT market, targeting selected users to invest in tokenized assets. It has now opened trading for 78 selected stocks, including Apple, Tesla, and NVIDIA. The trading fee is $0.04 USDT per share, with a minimum charge of $5 USDT per order.
Ondo
Ondo Finance is one of the most comprehensive projects in the crypto "security tokenization" space, covering asset issuance, liquidity management, and underlying infrastructure. Its core products include two asset-backed tokens, OUSG and USDY, as well as liquidity protocol Nexus, lending platform Flux, and the upcoming compliance-permitted chain, Ondo Chain.
In February 2025, Ondo held its first Summit in New York, officially disclosing the design of its GM ("Global Markets") platform. The goal is to tokenize thousands of global public securities (such as Apple, Tesla, S&P 500 ETFs) and enable 24/7 trading and instant settlement on-chain. All GM platform tokens are backed 1:1 by physical securities, but the issuance and redemption processes are embedded with compliance controls, targeting markets outside the US and aiming to create a "Wall Street 2.0."
Buying NVIDIA on Kraken: What’s the Difference from Traditional Brokerage Trading?
To support its grand strategy, Ondo also announced the launch of the institutional-compliant chain, Ondo Chain. The chain uses a semi-permissioned architecture, allowing anyone to issue and develop, but with validation nodes operated by well-known financial institutions to ensure compliance and security. The chain natively supports financial operations such as dividend payments and stock splits, and introduces an on-chain reserve proof mechanism to ensure that tokens are fully backed by assets. The goal is to become the infrastructure for future on-chain prime brokerage and cross-asset collateralization, among other core traditional financial operations. On May 19, Kinexys, a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, executed the first cross-chain "Delivery vs Payment" transaction with Ondo Chain.
Although GM and Ondo Chain have not yet officially launched, the core assets of the Ondo ecosystem, OUSG and USDY, have reached scales of $545 million and $634 million, respectively. OUSG is mainly held by institutions on Ethereum, while USDY has shown higher retail user adoption on Solana.
It is worth noting that the majority of Ondo's team members come from top institutions such as Goldman Sachs and McKinsey. They actively engage in communication and coordination with US regulatory agencies such as the SEC and CFTC, deeply involved in policy-making, compliance design, and public relations. This includes inviting former Congressman Patrick McHenry to join the advisory board, fully demonstrating their ambition and resource integration capabilities to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the crypto industry.
Securitize
In the increasingly compliant crypto industry, there are also companies that have strong connections with the government and brokers. For example, Cantor, which is responsible for 99% of Tether's Treasury bond purchases, is one of the 24 primary dealers of the US Department of the Treasury. Cantor directly participates in the issuance and trading of Treasury bonds and maintains close business relations with the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. Their cooperation enabled Tether to achieve $2 billion in Treasury income in mid-2023 alone.
The combination of Cantor and Tether is not unique. BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, established the BUIDL fund in 2024. This year, with an asset management scale of over $2.5 billion, it has become a leader in the RWA track. The designated custodian of BUIDL is Securitize, which was founded in 2017 and specializes in blockchain technology and digital asset securitization.
Unlike traditional crypto companies, Securitize's management is filled with Wall Street executives. In 2021, Securitize hired Brett Redfearn, the former director of the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets, who still serves as the Chief Executive Officer's senior strategic advisor and chair of the advisory board. Securitize also has close ties with newly appointed SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, who joined Securitize in 2019, served on the advisory board and board of directors, and held call options worth up to $500,000. He only stepped down in February of this year. Coincidentally, in 2019, Securitize became a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and an operator of an SEC-regulated Alternative Trading System (ATS).
On the eve of this "compliance," Securitize may also become one of the best pathways to bridge crypto and traditional finance, thanks to its compliant "background."
Taking Food from the Tiger's Mouth?
The signs of brokers participating in crypto even began much earlier, with several stock exchanges attempting to integrate crypto business years ago.
Comparison of Data Before and After Brokerages Entered the "Crypto Concept" (Chart by BlockBeats)
Toro, an Israeli fintech company founded in 2007, first launched Bitcoin trading services in 2013. Subsequently, eToro continuously expanded its digital asset product line, gradually adding support for trading major cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin.
Robinhood is perhaps the most well-known brokerage firm in the Crypto circle, having entered the crypto space as early as 2018 and gaining widespread recognition during the Trump Coin period. After announcing a $200 million acquisition of European digital asset trading platform Bitstamp, Robinhood entered Singapore in March of this year, leveraging Bitstamp's regulatory approval to integrate into Singapore's crypto-friendly framework. Bitstamp has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), providing Robinhood with significant regulatory advantages and simplifying its market entry process.
By prioritizing regulatory compliance, Robinhood differentiates itself from offshore platforms operating in legal gray areas, which is also one of the advantages of traditional brokerages over some Crypto CEXs in promoting global tokenization of securities.
Robinhood's expansion in Singapore is part of its larger international growth strategy. Robinhood had previously launched crypto trading in Europe and initiated stock options trading in the UK. With the expansion of its licensing scope, Robinhood is now offering comprehensive services, including digital finance and traditional finance, in multiple regions.
This month, Robinhood also accelerated its process of securities market tokenization. On May 8, Robinhood announced plans to launch a blockchain-based platform for trading US assets in Europe. On May 20, Robinhood submitted a 42-page proposal to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), suggesting the establishment of a federal framework for "RWA tokenization" to modernize the US securities market.
It's not just Europe and the US; some brokerages in Hong Kong also began exploring this area last year. In June 2024, several Hong Kong brokerages started to provide trading services for virtual assets such as Bitcoin. Brokerages like Victory Securities, Tiger Brokers, and Interactive Brokers all launched corresponding services. Some brokerages are placing greater emphasis on their Crypto business, estimating that related income from their crypto operations could account for about a quarter of the company's revenue.
On May 7, 2025, Futu Securities also announced the official launch of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT deposit services. Users can now deposit funds, trade cryptocurrencies and traditional financial assets, including Hong Kong, US, and Japanese stocks, options, ETFs, funds, and bonds through Futu NiuNiu, quickly switching between virtual and traditional asset markets.
Failed Attempts and the Dilemma of Offshore Platforms
In fact, around 2020, "tokenized stocks" had already been boldly tested by some crypto platforms. This model aims to map traditional stocks into tradable digital assets through blockchain technology, breaking many of the time, geographical, and threshold limitations of traditional financial markets.
In this experiment, FTX was undoubtedly the most aggressive pioneer.
Around 2020, FTX was the first to launch its tokenized stock trading feature. Users could trade tokens of well-known US-listed companies such as Tesla (TSLA) and Apple (AAPL) on its platform. These tokens were issued by its Swiss subsidiary, Canco GmbH, and were linked to real stocks held in custody by a third-party broker, achieving a "1:1 pegged" mapping relationship.
At that time, users could participate in the investment of popular US stocks 24/7 with as little as $1 (similar to the global liquidity absorption plan that NASDAQ wanted to achieve later). In addition to this, users could also redeem actual stocks with tokens, although this process was subject to platform policies and compliance requirements in practice.
Buying NVIDIA on Kraken: What’s the Difference from Traditional Brokerage Trading?
The differences between FTX and Binance's previous tokenized stock trading (Chart by BlockBeats)
To be "compliant," FTX partnered with German financial services firms CM-Equity AG and Digital Assets AG to create a compliance framework that would give these US stock tokens legitimacy and financial connectivity. However, this business did not go far. In November 2022, FTX declared bankruptcy due to serious issues such as fund misappropriation and fraud charges, and its tokenized stock business was also terminated.
In April 2021, Binance also briefly entered the tokenized stock field, launching stock token products settled in its stablecoin BUSD, with the first batch including star stocks such as Coinbase (COIN) and Tesla (TSLA), continuing to promote the fractional investment concept.
However, the challenges faced by Binance were not from the market but from regulatory pressure. Due to the lack of a unified regulatory framework for security tokens, Binance's stock tokens were first questioned by financial regulatory authorities in Italy, Germany, and the UK, who believed they might constitute unauthorized securities issuance or trading activities. Subsequently, Japan, the US, Canada, Thailand, and the Cayman Islands, among other countries, took actions such as investigating, filing criminal lawsuits, or prohibiting the platform from operating within their borders.
On the other hand, as both crypto exchanges and brokerages are chasing the market for security tokenization, discussions have emerged in the community. For "Crypto Native" funds, whether in the ICO era or after experiencing the Memecoin boom, the returns obtained from interpreting companies' PE, PS, business models, and financial reports may be far less than what they were previously good at. This will also lead to Crypto Natives not being very enthusiastic about traditional stocks.
On the other hand, high-net-worth individuals in the traditional field are very interested in the "high returns" of Crypto assets or AI assets, which was something that Crypto CEXs wanted to do before. Now that both sides' businesses are gradually converging, this type of customer will have more trust in traditional brokerage platforms such as Robinhood, eToro, and Futu.
Stablecoins + Securities on Chain: The Liquidity Loop Is Coming?
On May 22, David Sacks, the White House's cryptocurrency and AI czar, said that the stablecoin bill would unlock trillions of dollars for the US Treasury. The day before, the US Senate voted to pass the "cloture motion" for the GENIUS Stablecoin Bill to enter formal deliberation, with at least 15 Democratic senators changing their original stance to vote in favor. The bill will now enter the full deliberation process. Although only the "cloture motion" has been passed and the bill itself has not yet been approved, the market is generally optimistic about the progress of the GENIUS bill. The bill will provide a clear regulatory framework for security tokenization, especially on the basis of stablecoins and RWA tokenization, which may extend to stock tokenization. This will reduce the compliance risks for market participants and attract more institutional investors. Previously, projects such as Backed Finance and Securitize had launched tokenized stocks based on MiFID II and SEC regulations. If the GENIUS bill is passed, it may further accelerate growth.
After stablecoins are regulated, they may reduce the friction of cross-border transactions through blockchain technology and attract global investors to participate in the US market. In fact, many institutions and countries have already begun to respond. On May 17, Moonpay partnered with Mastercard to allow users to use stablecoins at over 150 million locations worldwide that accept Mastercard, with these stablecoins being immediately exchangeable for fiat currency at the point of sale. On May 21, South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung proposed the issuance of a KRW-based stablecoin. Meanwhile, according to The Wall Street Journal, major commercial banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are discussing with Early Warning Services, the operator of the Zelle payment system, and the real-time payment network Clearing House to jointly issue stablecoins.
However, JPMorgan analysts disagree with David Sacks' statement about trillions of dollars. They believe that although the US stablecoin regulatory framework is gradually advancing, the market's prediction that the total supply of stablecoins will triple or quadruple from the current $240 billion to nearly a trillion dollars in the next one to two years is "overly optimistic."
Nevertheless, after years of development, stablecoins now account for 1.1% of the US dollar supply. Due to their high yield and convenience, as well as the important role they may play in the future global security tokenization phase, they have reached a stage that traditional markets can no longer ignore.
Buying NVIDIA on Kraken: What’s the Difference from Traditional Brokerage Trading?
Data from tokenterminal shows the current proportion of major stablecoins.
The "tokenization" revolution in the cryptocurrency space is similar to the transformation of the music industry from physical records to digital music. The process from the copyright disputes caused by Napster to the rise of compliant platforms such as iTunes and Spotify was not easy. But now, as the integration of crypto and securities accelerates, we are standing at the crossroads of this era. This process may also be full of uncertainties and risks, but perhaps a more open, transparent, and efficient new financial era is coming.
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