Blockchain-based representations of traditional equities, known as tokenized stocks, are gaining significant traction overseas, according to Bitwise Asset Management's latest quarterly staking report published Tuesday. On Robinhood Chain, the brokerage's newly launched network for users and AI agents to trade assets onchain, tokenized stock volumes surged dramatically over the quarter. Non-crypto markets also made up 36.5% of Hyperliquid's perpetuals volume, up from 32.7% in the previous quarter, while tokenized equities were the fastest-growing category on Solana.
The surge comes as the debate over the rights and risks of tokenization intensifies. On Monday, OKXICE disclosed in a public notice that Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Caterpillar, McDonald's, Western Digital and Alphabet had objected to having tokenized versions of their shares traded on the platform. They join earlier objectors including CoreWeave, UnitedHealth, Broadcom, Applied Digital, AppLovin and Cerebras, bringing the total to 16 companies.
Andrew Cuomo, co-chairman of OKXICE, framed the objections as an expected part of the process. "This is a very natural response. The model was designed to give companies the right to determine whether they want to opt in or opt out. We always anticipated that, because this is such a dramatic and revolutionary change, many companies would want to wait and see how it goes rather than be the first to participate," he said in a statement. Cuomo added that the SEC's innovation exemption, introduced last month, creates a temporary pathway for tokenized stocks in the US and requires that companies be able to object.
Mirza Uddin, chief operating officer of Injective, noted the difference between offshore activity and the US framework. "The divergence comes down to what's actually being traded. Offshore, most of this activity is price exposure through onchain perps and wrapped tokens that never needed a company's permission, while the U.S. framework is trying to put real shares onchain, and that gives issuers a say," he said. "Right now companies like Goldman and Microsoft see all of the risk and none of the upside – a token they don't control trading 24/7 with unclear voting rights."
ClearStreet analyst Owen Lau suggested some companies may eventually embrace tokenization. "Some companies will say yes or will not object to this because of the benefits … the expanded investor base, 24/7 [access], increased distribution channel. Some of the beaten down stocks with low trading volume could be good candidates," he said. Lau also pointed to benefits such as greater visibility, direct dividend payments and cost savings, and noted that tokenized assets can act as collateral for decentralized finance platforms.
The issue of what rights token holders should receive, particularly voting rights, first came into focus in September after a public dispute between the CEOs of Robinhood and AMC over Robinhood's stock-token model. As of Wednesday, 16 companies have objected to OKXICE's tokenization, though that does not necessarily mean they oppose all tokenization models. The SEC's exemption limits the number of participating companies and trading volume.