Wall Street’s Tokenized Stock Rush Is Getting Messy

At the Onchain Leaders Gathering in Geneva, a panel titled “The New Financial Stack” examined the practical challenges of moving traditional equities onto blockchain platforms. Representatives from Zama, G‑20 Group, Blobb.io and Rex Change highlighted the need for liquidity, privacy, compliance and real‑world utility before institutions can adopt tokenized stocks at scale.

Infrastructure and Institutional Needs

Antoine Hello of Zama stressed that public blockchain infrastructure must handle high transaction volumes while protecting sensitive financial data. François Meurier of Rex Change emphasized that the focus should be on how tokenized markets operate in practice, not just on theoretical models.

Market Growth and Imbalance

Data from RWA.xyz showed roughly $2.9 billion in distributed tokenized stocks and $13.3 billion in monthly transfer volume as of early September, with over 3.1 million addresses holding these assets. While the number of holders rose sharply, monthly transfer volume fell, indicating uneven market depth.

Ownership and Regulatory Concerns

The recent controversy surrounding AMC tokenized exposure highlighted ownership issues. AMC’s CEO criticized Robinhood for offering tokens that do not confer actual share ownership or shareholder rights. The World Federation of Exchanges warned that such “mimic” products could undermine investor protections.

Major Players Enter the Space

Nasdaq announced a $100 million investment in Payward, the parent of Kraken, to develop tokenized equity infrastructure. The London Stock Exchange Group also partnered with Payward to launch a 24‑hour trading venue for tokenized UK shares.

Path Forward

Industry leaders, including UBS Asset Management and Tether’s tokenization division, identified common infrastructure, liquidity and regulatory clarity as the remaining hurdles. The consensus is that tokenized stocks must deliver the same liquidity, privacy and investor rights as traditional equities to achieve broader adoption.