ETFs are a thing of the past, but stock tokenization is the future?

Original Author | @brianq

Compile | Translator of Odaily (@OdailyChina)

| Jingle Bell (@XiaMiPP)

Editor's note: After the launch of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, the line between the crypto market and traditional finance is increasingly blurred. Tokenized Stocks, as an innovative form of putting traditional equity assets on the chain, is gradually attracting market attention. By converting a company's shares into digital tokens that can be traded on the blockchain, stock tokenization attempts to bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto assets. Whether it's Coinbase taking the lead in trying to issue its own shares on-chain, or Wall Street giants accelerating their entry, all signs indicate that a new financial era built by on-chain stocks may have quietly begun. So, is stock tokenization a bubble or the next trillion-dollar opportunity?

The following is an original article published by Santiment, an on-chain data analytics platform, compiled by Odaily:

Introduction Is Stock Tokenization a Reliable Investment Option? Essentially, it blends the value of traditional stocks with the technological advantages of blockchain. Unlike traditional stocks, which are kept in a broker's account, stock tokenization is a blockchain-based digital token that is anchored to the shares of the actual company. This form allows investors to participate in investment in a lower threshold and fragmented way, thus breaking the restrictions on the amount of funds in the traditional market.

In early 2025, Coinbase announced that it would issue an on-chain token version of its own stock on its Ethereum layer 2 network, Base. This move not only demonstrates the importance that mainstream crypto platforms attach to this field, but also becomes a signal for the accelerated integration of traditional finance and blockchain technology.