On Tuesday, Trading platform eToro announced its plan at a global webinar, ‘eToro Unlocked: Trade Without Boundaries,’ to introduce tokenized US stocks and ETFs on the Ethereum network.
eToro Tokenized Stocks: Trade Real Shares as ERC-20 Tokens
eToro will tokenize 100 top US stocks and ETFs as ERC-20 tokens, each backed by 1:1 real shares held by the company. Users can utilize these digital tokens for actual stock positions on eToro and vice versa, blending traditional investing with the flexibility of crypto.
Tokenization allows assets to trade 24/7, unlike traditional markets with limited hours. It also enables faster, borderless transactions.
eToro CEO Yoni Assia called blockchain the key to the “greatest wealth transfer ever,” as real-world assets move on-chain.
He stated in a press release, “New regulations, such as MiCA in Europe and the passing of the Genius Act in the US, makes the tokenization of real world assets a new opportunity to create digital assets that are legally backed and regulated. The benefits of tokenization, in particular 24/7 transferability, have been clearly demonstrated by stable coins and these opportunities are now expanding to more asset classes.”
In the US and EU, tokenized stocks are gaining popularity rapidly as companies and platforms seek to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance.
Coinbase is actively seeking Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval to launch tokenized US equities, with Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal calling tokenization “the future of finance.”
Similarly, Ondo Finance, through its acquisition of Oasis Pro, is leveraging its broker-dealer license to develop tokenized versions of over 1,000 publicly listed US equities for global investors. Ondo is in discussions with the SEC’s Crypto Task Force to ensure compliance.
However, there are some critics who oppose the tokenization of stocks. Recently, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) has written a letter to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, requesting that the agency should reject requests from cryptocurrency companies seeking special permission to offer tokenized stocks.
SIFMA argued that crypto firms should follow standard regulatory procedures instead of receiving exemptions.
However, SEC Chair Paul Atkins has shown a pro-innovation stance, saying that the SEC is committed to advancing tokenization through clear regulatory guidance. Proposals like the “innovation exemption” post-stablecoin legislation aim to ease restrictions for tokenized securities.
The GENIUS Act and STABLE Act are creating pathways for tokenized securities by clarifying commodity-classified assets, though tokenized stocks remain classified as securities or derivatives, requiring strict compliance with SEC regulations.
US platforms like Securitize, an SEC-registered broker-dealer, manage approximately $38 billion in tokenized assets, focusing on primary issuance and secondary trading. Securitize raised $47 million in June 2025, led by BlackRock, indicating strong institutional backing.
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