Securitize brings Apple, Nvidia and Tesla to Solana, with NYSE trading in the works

Tokenization firm Securitize (SECZ) said it is bringing shares of Apple, Nvidia, Tesla and other major U.S. companies in the Solana (SOL) blockchain, joining a growing race to make traditional stocks available through crypto trading infrastructure.

The new product, called Securitize Stocks, will initially cover 12 companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Netflix, Circle, Strategy and Palantir, the firm said Thursday in a press release shared with CoinDesk.

At first, trading of those stock will be available on Securitize’s existing Solana-based platform, with Jump Trading providing liquidity and transactions settling in USDC stablecoin.

The stocks are also expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange’s planned 24/7 digital trading platform and the upcoming OKXICE Tokenized Securities Venue, a joint venture between NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and crypto exchange OKX. Both expansions remain subject to the venues launching and meeting regulatory requirements.

The move comes as Wall Street firms are pushing to bring equities onto blockchain markets, allowing around-the-clock trading, faster settlement and potentially use of stocks as collateral in onchain lending markets.

U.S. regulators are also weighing how to accommodate these products. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rolled out an “innovation exemption” last month to open a path for new tokenized securities trading venues built on blockchain rails.

Read more: SEC opens door to tokenized U.S. stock trading. Here’s who could benefit

Florida-based Securitize, founded in 2017, is one of the longest-running companies focused on bringing traditional financial assets onto blockchain rails. The firm currently issued $4.5 billion in tokenized assets, and is best known for issuing the first blockchain-based money market fund from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.

The firm attracted backing from investors including BlackRock and asset manager ARK Invest before it went public on the New York Stock Exchange in June. It has also tokenized some $300 million of its own publicly-traded shares, available on Solana and Avalanche.

Regarding Securitize Stocks, the company said each of the stock tokens will be backed by an actual share and preserve the benefits and shareholder rights, including dividends and voting rights. The tokens represent security entitlements rather than direct ownership on a company’s shareholder register, though conversion may become available when issuers adopt tokenization.

“The opportunity is to bring equities onchain without leaving behind the ownership, investor protections and market infrastructure that make U.S. capital markets work,” said Carlos Domingo, Chairman and CEO of Securitize. ”Securitize Stocks are designed around that principle, while creating a bridge to a future where issuers themselves can participate directly in tokenization.”

RQD will support the clearing, custody and settlement infrastructure connecting the tokenized shares to traditional securities markets, while Ripple Prime plans to explore institutional uses for the assets.

Eligible investors in the U.S., Europe and other permitted markets will be able to trade Securitize Stock tokens, initially during extended market hours, with plans to expand to 24/7 access.

The OKX-ICE joint venture filed this week to introduce tokenized stock trading under the SEC’s framework, another sign of growing interest from established exchanges in blockchain-based securities markets.

“Tokenized equities give investors around the world access to investments they might otherwise never have had the opportunity to participate in, at internet scale,” said Nick Ducoff, general manager of institutional at Solana Foundation.

UPDATE (Oct. 8, 14:10 UTC time): Added background about Securitize.