Securitize builds Wall Street credentials with SEC adviser license as tokenization expands

Tokenization specialist Securitize (SECZ) is expanding its regulatory footprint, adding an investment adviser registration as the company positions itself to serve a growing number of institutional investors bringing traditional assets onto blockchain rails.

Securitize said Monday that its subsidiary, Securitize Capital, has registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment adviser. The new license adds to the firm’s existing regulated businesses, which include a broker-dealer, alternative trading system (ATS), transfer agent and fund administration services.

The move comes as regulators have begun examining how existing securities rules apply to a new generation of investment products on blockchain rails. Last week, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said that certain crypto vaults and lending strategies could fall under investment adviser regulations depending on how they’re structured and managed.

Vaults have become one of decentralized finance’s fastest-growing products, allowing users to deposit crypto into smart contracts that automatically allocate capital across lending markets and other yield-generating strategies. Increasingly, those products are being adopted beyond DeFi by platforms reaching a broader investor base such as Coinbase and Robinhood to offer yield on customer balances. Curated vaults now hold about $8.6 billion in assets, according to Vaults.fyi data.

Securitize said the registration gives it a broader foundation to work with asset managers and institutional investors exploring onchain investment strategies.

The company has already built infrastructure around tokenized vaults, including permissioned lending vaults with Euler that allow tokenized assets such as VanEck’s VBILL fund to be used as collateral while maintaining investor eligibility requirements.

Securitize has emerged as one of the largest providers of tokenization infrastructure, partnering with asset managers including BlackRock, Apollo, KKR and VanEck. It issues BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized money market fund, while working with the New York Stock Exchange to design the plumbing behind tokenized securities trading.

The firm completed its public listing earlier this month under the ticker SECZ. Its share price is down nearly 40% through July.