Bullish, Alpaca and Apex Fintech form coalition to push issuer-backed tokenized stocks

Bullish (BLSH), Equiniti, Alpaca, Apex Fintech Solutions and DriveWealth have formed a new industry group focused on building standards for tokenized securities that remain directly tied to the companies that issue them.

The Issuer Sponsored Token Coalition, unveiled on Thursday, was convened by CoinDesk parent company Bullish and Equiniti, a shareholder-services and market-infrastructure firm that is being acquired by the crypto platform.

The group said they plan to work on technical standards, settlement, custody and ways to move securities between traditional market infrastructure and blockchain networks.

Its main focus is issuer-sponsored tokenization, in which a tokenized share would be linked to a company’s official shareholder register. That structure is designed to preserve rights such as voting, dividends and participation in corporate actions.

The distinction has gained attention as firms roll out products that offer stock exposure without always giving holders direct ownership of the underlying shares.

A recent dispute between AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron and Robinhood highlighted that issue, centering on whether synthetic or tokenized products may leave investors with economic exposure to a stock but without the same legal rights as registered shareholders. Issuer-sponsored models aim to narrow that gap by tying the token directly to the issuer’s records.

“The architecture we establish now matters and that is why we are bringing together this group of leading firms to chart the course,” said Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish.

Alpaca said it plans to contribute to interoperability between traditional securities and onchain markets through its Instant Tokenization Network.

“Tokenization creates an opportunity to connect issuers and investors in ways that weren’t possible with traditional market infrastructure,” said Arush Sehgal, head of digital assets at Alpaca. “Getting it right means preserving shareholder rights and ensuring onchain markets remain connected to the markets they’re built on.

Apex Fintech Solutions, which provides infrastructure for broker-dealers and other financial firms, said the group could help establish standards that enable tokenized markets to connect with existing systems.

The coalition said its work follows last week’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission exemption allowing limited onchain trading of U.S.-listed equities under certain conditions.

Read more: Real stocks are finally coming on blockchain. Here’s how the SEC wants it to work