Securitize Debuts SECZ on NYSE and Onchain

Securitize says SECZ tokens are the same common stock

Securitize said tokenized versions of $266 million worth of SECZ had been issued, describing that issuance as making SECZ the largest tokenized stock in the world. Blockchain data from RWA.xyz showed investors held around $295 million in tokenized shares, a separate market-value reference that differs from the issued amount. The tokenized stock is available to eligible U.S. investors through Securitize’s regulated platform, with investors required to complete identity verification and meet securities-law requirements before buying the onchain shares.

Carlos Domingo, co-founder and CEO of Securitize, said the launch was intended to demonstrate that public equities can move onto blockchain rails through issuer-backed infrastructure. “We have long said that public equities are moving on-chain, and there is no stronger validation of that belief than tokenizing our own public stock on Day 1,” Domingo said.

Domingo drew a direct distinction between SECZ and third-party token products. “SECZ is not a synthetic token or offshore wrapper. It is issuer-sponsored tokenization of the same common stock trading on the NYSE, made available through regulated infrastructure,” Domingo said. He added that the model could serve as a template for other public companies. “Bringing SECZ on-chain is not just a milestone for Securitize. It is a blueprint for public companies that want to use tokenization to create more efficient, transparent, and useful ownership experiences for their shareholders.”

Domingo said Securitize wanted to lead by example by showing companies could issue “real shares onchain.” “We just wanted to lead by example and show people that if you want to issue real shares onchain, not fake shares, not copy cats, whatever you want to call it, then you can do it,” Domingo said. Securitize also posted on X, “Our focus is unchanged: building the regulated infrastructure for the next generation of capital markets.”

The central feature of the SECZ launch is that the tokenized stock is issuer-sponsored, meaning the token itself is treated as the security rather than a product backed by shares. The model is described as preserving full stockholder entitlements, including voting rights and dividends. Securitize President Brett Redfearn said tokenized equity issued through Securitize can retain those entitlements and “can be removed” from the Depository Trust Company, the central book-keeping securities depository for nearly all U.S. stocks.

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Company pitches vertically integrated market infrastructure

Redfearn said Securitize operates blockchain-native versions of existing securities infrastructure, including its own transfer agent, broker-dealer, fund services business and adviser. “We’re a very vertically integrated company,” Redfearn said. He argued that while competitors such as Superstate and tZERO have also pursued issuer-sponsored tokenization, Securitize remains unusually broad because it combines multiple regulated infrastructure roles.

Redfearn said competitors may have some pieces of that structure but not the same combination. “There are some people who compete with us who have registered transfer agents. We have a broker-dealer,” Redfearn said. He added, “There are not that many who have a transfer agent and a broker-dealer.” Securitize also operates an alternative trading system, allowing both Securitize-issued and non-Securitize-issued tokens to trade on its venue.

SECZ’s tokenized shares allow 24/7 trading, meaning the tokenized stock could continue changing hands even when traditional U.S. equity markets are closed, including during the Friday market closure for Independence Day. The launch was positioned around broader access, round-the-clock trading, faster settlement and potential integration with blockchain-based financial applications. Supporters of tokenization argue the model can shorten settlement times and make securities interoperable with blockchain-based finance applications.

Redfearn said the consumer benefit of tokenization is understated because investors may be able to make better use of assets through decentralized lending when middlemen are cut out. “I think that business is totally disruptible,” Redfearn said. “There’s a lot of opportunities when you start to disintermediate traditional businesses.” He said the wider DeFi ecosystem outside Securitize is developing new uses for tokenized assets, including use as collateral and deposits into yield-bearing vaults.

Redfearn said he has personally run a “looping strategy” on a tokenized fund that Securitize tokenized for asset manager Apollo. He also said Securitize is already in discussions with “capital markets desks at the largest investment banks,” including JPMorgan, about distributing IPO allocations “to crypto investors in a tokenized form to like MetaMask wallets or OKX wallets.” Redfearn said, “The conversation isn’t theoretical. It’s operational.”

Redfearn gave a near-term timeline for tokenized IPO allocations. “We’re gonna see this within the next three to six months. I definitely think we’re gonna see it within the next year,” he said. Redfearn also said Securitize “tried to get in on SpaceX,” but added that “it was a little early.” SPCX went public on June 12 and was described as a testing ground for novel blockchain-based services, including pre-IPO markets and tokenized trading.

Listing follows SPAC plan and regulatory process

Securitize indicated in October that it planned to go public through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners II, targeting a listing in the first half of the year. Securitize’s S-4 registration became effective in June, which dispelled rumors that the company might delay its listing like several other crypto firms had considered amid weaker market conditions. Redfearn confirmed Securitize was not contractually forced to go public at this time and did not face a financial penalty for delaying the transaction.

Asked about potential ethics issues tied to Cantor Fitzgerald’s relationship with Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick, Redfearn said he believes “satisfactory walls” are in place, especially because Lutnick had divested from Cantor Fitzgerald. “Cantor Fitzgerald is definitely the leader in SPACs in the digital asset space, so they were the right partner for very, very different reasons,” Redfearn said. He also said “Securitize is looked upon by the SEC and by regulators as a good actor,” adding that the company would not jeopardize that reputation.

Securitize raised a $400 million PIPE last year, and Redfearn said the company plans to use public-market proceeds for hiring, product build-out, ecosystem development and potential M&A. “The timing is exactly right,” Redfearn said. “I love the idea that we’re fueled to escalate our growth trajectory right now.” He added, “I think the timing is really good because we’re approaching a tipping point in tokenization for financial services generally, and Securitize is, in my view, in the clear leading position as an infrastructure builder.”

Securitize was founded in 2017, and the NYSE debut came roughly eight years after its founding. The company is backed by BlackRock and ARK Invest. It has built tokenization infrastructure for firms including BlackRock, Apollo, KKR, Hamilton Lane and VanEck. Its services include issuance, transfer agency and fund administration for blockchain-based securities.

Earlier this year, NYSE parent company Intercontinental Exchange partnered with Securitize to develop infrastructure for tokenized equities. Securitize also teamed up with Computershare and Continental, described as two of the world’s largest transfer agents, to help public companies issue their shares in token form on blockchain rails.

Tokenized securities market forecasts frame the wider push

The SECZ launch comes as tokenization expands across traditional financial assets including funds, bonds and equities. Citi projected tokenized securities could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030. Boston Consulting Group and Ripple estimated the tokenized-securities market could grow to $18.9 trillion by 2033. Real-world assets were described as a category beginning to balloon, with some analysts projecting the sector could reach trillions of dollars.

Tokenized stock wrappers are spreading across platforms such as Kraken’s xStocks subsidiary and other exchanges, but Securitize’s approach is framed as different because the company says the token itself is the security. The key distinction is between third-party tokenized wrappers, which may be backed one-to-one by shares, and issuer-sponsored tokenized stock, where the issuer directly supports the tokenized form of the equity.

Securitize is using SECZ’s NYSE listing and onchain launch as a showcase for its infrastructure business rather than only as an additional distribution channel for its stock. Redfearn said the company wants to use its own listing to demonstrate the model internally and externally. “We’re gonna eat our own dog food,” he said.