Tokenized stocks have achieved a significant milestone, making it hard not to draw a comparison. With US$4.63 billion in combined issuance, this market is at the same level as stablecoins in March 2020 (Token Terminal data that OKX cited).
Stablecoins have since grown around 64-fold, to nearly US$297 billion. But that’s a benchmark, not a prediction, raising a tough question: can equities follow the stablecoin script? Or will securities law, custody, and market structure slow the progress? Growth in 2026 has been fast. In January 2026, tokenized stocks were worth less than US$1 billion; by early September, that had risen above US$3 billion; and by late October 2026, it was US$4.63 billion. That kind of growth has been driven by new issuance, rather than appreciation of the underlying shares.
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Concentration Defines Tokenized Stocks
A stablecoin playbook creates concentration. Three issuers Binance bStocks, Ondo Global Markets and Backed Finance’s xStocks account for roughly 81% of the tokenized stock market capitalization, per market tracker Token Terminal. They differ in legal structure, custodial arrangements and redemption procedures.
Source: CryptoRank
Approximately 86% use collateralized structures, where a third-party issuer issues tokens representing exposure to underlying securities held by a custodian. US companies and ETFs comprise most of the issuers, with well over 90%. BNB Chain dominates for infrastructure, with Ethereum and Solana in second and third place.
Source: Remitly
Circle, MicroStrategy, and SpaceX are the most tokenized issuers. Binance took about 125 days to reach $1 billion in bStocks market cap, compared with 265 days for Ondo. Much of that value remains in exchange accounts rather than roaming freely in DeFi.
Also Read: Chainlink Launches 24/7 Pricing for Tokenized Stocks and RWAs
Harder Than Stablecoins
Faster trading helped stablecoins take off, enabling the cryptocurrency market to trade seamlessly 24 hours a day. Tokenized stocks need to do that too, but they face a harder problem: a tokenized stock is a claim on equity, with dividends, corporate actions, and disclosure rules attached.
Flowdesk CEO Guilhem Chaumont argues that the next four to five years will shift from tokenizing fiat to tokenizing liquid equities and ETFs, and that shift will turn on custody and regulation, not just raw speed. In the US, that period started in September 2026 when the Securities and Exchange Commission offered a five-year Innovation Exemption for venues to trade tokenized securities without registering as traditional exchanges.
OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, parent of the NYSE, notified the SEC in October of plans for OKXICE, a 24/7 venue using permissioned Uniswap v4 pools on X Layer and stablecoin settlement. By late October, over 30 issuers had objected, including JPMorgan Chase and Verizon.
Also Read: OKXICE Tokenized Stocks Face Opposition From 50 Public Companies
Scale Remains Tiny
Scale is minuscule, and the next challenge is utility. Tokenized stocks are insignificant compared to traditional finance. At $4.63 billion, they are just 0.0038% of the global equity market, estimated at $150 trillion. That discrepancy is both opportunity and caution. Token Terminal puts deposits in decentralized finance at about $300 million, roughly 6.8% of the market.
What comes next will be determined by three hurdles: will regulated venues launch with issuer approval, investor protection, and real price discovery outside trading hours? Will custody, redemption, and corporate actions be standardized so institutions view tokenized equities like traditional equity?
Will tokens move beyond trading into collateral and lending without generating additional risks? If those hurdles are cleared, the stablecoin comparison could seem conservative. If not, tokenized stocks will likely remain limited products that provide access, but do not truly replicate equities.
Also Read: Ethereum Tokenized Stocks Reach $827M as ETH Price Eyes $5,000 Rally
Ananthyka J is a market reporter at Tronweekly, reporting on cryptocurrency news. She covers cryptocurrency markets, blockchain technology, and digital asset regulation, focusing on Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, altcoins, and crypto policy. Her reporting emphasizes clear and accurate market coverage, including crypto market movements, regulatory developments, and blockchain adoption. She holds a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication and an MA in Communication and Media Studies. She has also completed multiple media internships, follows strict editorial and fact-checking standards, and discloses potential conflicts of interest when reporting.
