Financial Asset Tokenization: The Rise of New Era Exchanges

Against the backdrop of the rapid development of cryptography and artificial intelligence, the tokenization of financial assets is quietly sparking a revolution. This article will delve into this emerging trend, analyze the strategic layouts of the main participants, and explore the profound impact this transformation may have on global capital flows, trading efficiency, and market volatility.

Strategic Layout of Major Participants

Robinhood's ambitions

Robinhood plans to support tokenization of over 1000 U.S. stocks by the end of the year. The core advantages of this initiative include:

• 24/7 Trading: Breaking Through Traditional Market Time Limitations
• Lower investment threshold: ordinary investors can also participate in high-priced stock investments.
• Global accessibility: providing convenient channels for international investors

It is worth noting that Robinhood is developing a Layer 2 blockchain based on Arbitrum, which not only expands the Ethereum ecosystem but also marks a further alignment of traditional finance with blockchain technology.

However, this innovation also faces some skepticism. For example, some argue that these tokenized stocks are actually contracts rather than real stocks, highlighting the importance of enhanced communication by companies when promoting such products.

Kraken's differentiated strategy

Kraken chooses to partner with Backed to launch xStocks on the Solana blockchain, offering over 60 tokenized US stocks and ETFs. Its main features include:

• Based on Solana: supports withdrawals to self-custody wallets, compatible with DeFi protocols
• Low threshold: minimum investment starting from 1 dollar
• Flexible application: can be used for DeFi yield or as collateral

Although Kraken has its own Layer 2 network Ink, it has chosen the Solana ecosystem for tokenization of stocks, and the long-term effects of this strategic choice are worth paying attention to.

Other players' movements

• Bybit: In collaboration with Backed, launched xStocks products on the spot platform, supporting Ethereum and Solana networks.
• Gemini: Launched the first tokenized stock MicroStrategy, in collaboration with Dinari, to open up to EU users.

Market Landscape and Historical Lessons

Potential Advantages of Coinbase

Although it has not officially entered the market yet, Coinbase is actively communicating with regulators to seek compliance opportunities. Its potential advantages include:

• Powerful DeFi ecosystem portfolio
• Advanced technological infrastructure, such as Base chain

Coinbase's cautious strategy may enable it to launch more refined products in the future.

Compliance is crucial

Compared to the encounter with the Mirror Protocol in 2020, the current tokenization stock model places greater emphasis on compliance. Major players such as Robinhood and Kraken have adopted regulated approaches, significantly reducing regulatory risks.

The Transformation of On-Chain Capital Markets

By the end of 2025, the market value of on-chain tokenized stocks is expected to exceed $20 billion and even reach $50 billion. This financial infrastructure of "super tokenized stocks" will usher in a new stage of deep integration between traditional finance and blockchain.

The advantages of on-chain stocks include:

• 24/7 trading
• Low trading costs
• Global Accessibility
• Lower the threshold for overseas investment

In the short term, on-chain stocks may serve more as a supplement to traditional stock markets. In terms of market volatility, the on-chain market may be more stable due to deeper liquidity, but it may also experience severe fluctuations in certain situations due to the lack of traditional circuit breaker mechanisms.

With the in-depth layout of major platforms, the proportion of tokenized stocks in the financial market may significantly increase in the coming years. It may even prompt traditional exchanges to consider building their own on-chain platforms.

Conclusion

Tokenization of stocks is moving from concept to reality, becoming an indispensable part of the financial system. Although the current scale is still small, its "on-chain price discovery" potential has already begun to show signs. As this field continues to develop, the transformation of on-chain capital markets is just beginning.