eToro plans to launch a tokenized version of U.S. stocks to enable 24/7 trading

According to Zhitong Finance APP, the Israeli trading platform eToro Group (ETOR.US) plans to launch tokenized versions of U.S. listed stocks, allowing customers to trade stocks at any time. Although the company declined to disclose when this service will be launched, it indicated that it may first start in Europe. The company will issue these assets in the form of ERC20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Once launched, users will be able to trade stocks around the clock and transfer these tokenized stocks between eToro digital wallets. The company added that 24/7 trading services will soon be available, with the initial trading offerings including 100 U.S. listed stocks and ETFs. During a webinar held on Tuesday, eToro's co-founder and CEO Yoni Assia stated, "This actually marks the beginning of digital assets and the tokenization of real-world assets. We are very much looking forward to seeing this phenomenon of integration again, where eToro's crypto wallet merges with our customers (who are sending and receiving crypto assets), and then connects with eToro's stock trading domain." eToro began offering cryptocurrency services to U.S. users in 2019 and currently supports over 50 digital assets in the market, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Stellar, and Cardano. In the same year, eToro launched tokenized products for gold and silver for its customers. The company announced a partnership with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group to provide spot quote futures, which are currently available for trading in some European markets. Additionally, the company plans to expand globally. This stock tokenization plan is similar to a statement made by competitor Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD.US). Robinhood stated that it would offer tokenized U.S. securities to its European customers. The launch of this plan quickly faced scrutiny from regulators, and after Robinhood combined this release with a $1 million OpenAI "token" giveaway, it also faced condemnation from AI giant OpenAI. Robinhood explicitly stated in its details that these tokens are actually derivative contracts linked to internal estimates of a private company's stock price, but the company still expressed opposition. OpenAI wrote in a post on social media platform X on July 28, "These 'OpenAI tokens' are not equity in OpenAI. We have not collaborated with Robinhood, nor have we participated in this matter, and we do not support it."