After Trump returned to power, the regulatory environment in the United States underwent significant changes, creating a policy dividend window for the tokenization of securities. Platforms like Robinhood, Bybit, and Kraken have entered the market, sparking a wave of "Tokenized Stocks" and attempting to reconstruct the global asset trading logic using on-chain methods. This revolution of capital and crypto integration not only harbors ambitions to disrupt traditional brokerage models but also involves deep considerations of compliance games and product paths.

Three Mainstream Models of US Stock Tokenization

Current attempts at US stock tokenization in the market can be roughly divided into three paths: the "third-party compliant issuance + multi-platform access model" represented by Backed Finance; the "licensed broker self-operated closed-loop model" represented by Robinhood; and the "Contract for Difference (CFD) model" adopted by platforms like Bybit. These three paths not only differ in technical architecture but also represent different understandings of compliance responsibilities, user relationships, and market structures.

Third-Party Compliant Issuance + Multi-Platform Access Model

The core of this model is the "separation of compliant issuance and platform access," mainly consisting of alliances like xStocks with Kraken and Bybit in recent days. The specific operational path is that institutions like Backed Finance, which hold Swiss or EU regulatory licenses, purchase stocks in the US stock market through the IBKR Prime channel and are held under the names of regulated custodians like Clearstream and Interactive Brokers.

Once the stocks are actually purchased and accounted for, corresponding stock tokens (such as TSLAx, AAPLx, NVDAx) are minted 1:1 on public chains like Solana (and will expand to Ethereum ERC20 in the future), with trading platforms like Kraken, Bybit, and Jupiter providing internal and on-chain liquidity support and secondary trading matching services.

The biggest feature of this model is that the "issuer is the primary responsible entity," with all compliance requirements, asset transparency disclosures, and off-chain actual custody borne by institutions like Backed; trading platforms only serve as front-end access points, without bearing the compliance pressure of securities token issuance, thus achieving large-scale compliant circulation in non-US regional markets.

The advantage of this path lies in the clear logic of asset confirmation, with all tokens 100% corresponding to actual holdings, managed by custodians in separate accounts. It has openness and liquidity, supporting on-chain trading, 24/7 trading, and seamless integration with DeFi applications, and can seamlessly connect with the "coin-stock" DeFi protocol extended later. Moreover, the compliance path is clear, requiring only the issuance end to have regulatory licenses, while the platform end can theoretically expand business as a "distributor" indefinitely, quickly expanding the "non-US regional" market.

In fact, as early as around 2020, FTX attempted to tokenize stocks using this path. At that time, FTX allowed users to trade tokens of well-known US stock companies such as Tesla (TSLA) and Apple (AAPL) on its platform. These tokens were issued by its Swiss subsidiary Canco GmbH and linked to real stocks held by third-party brokers, achieving a "1:1 pegged" mapping relationship.

At that time, users could participate in popular US stock investments 24/7 with a minimum of about $1. To further "comply," FTX cooperated with German financial services institution CM-Equity AG and Digital Assets AG to jointly create a compliance framework, making these US stock tokens legal and financially connectable. However, this business was terminated in November 2022 when FTX declared bankruptcy due to serious issues such as fund misappropriation and fraud allegations, and its tokenized stock business was also suspended.

This path also has obvious limitations. Although the SEC is not as "strict" as during the FTX period, since the SEC has not yet recognized the compliance of such products at this stage, products from this path are limited to US users, and because the path is relatively easy to replicate, if major trading platforms cannot reach a consensus, multiple "tokenized" stocks of the same company will appear, with relatively fragmented liquidity.

Most importantly, trust in the issuer is still required. Although the custody system is independent, there is a "gap period" (data falsification or redemption delay) in data disclosure and asset redemption by the issuer. For example, in the community, there have been some questioning voices about the issuer behind xStocks, Backed. KOL cryptobraveHQ expressed concerns about the background of Backed's team members on X, noting that the three main co-founders of Backed, Adam Levi, Yehonatan Goldman, and Roberto Klein, were respectively the co-founder and former CTO, COO, and head of legal and regulatory affairs of the "zero" project DAOstack. CryptobraveHQ further stated that "after raising about $30 million in the $Gen Digital(GEN.US) ICO, the team didn't even bother to list it on a small exchange, and after issuing the coin, they let it go to zero."

Licensed Broker Self-Operated Issuance + Closed-Loop On-Chain Trading

Currently, the most well-planned project in this path is Robinhood, which is taking a more thorough "broker-driven on-chain model." Compared to the xStocks model, it does not rely on third-party compliant issuers but uses traditional brokerage licenses as the foundation, connecting the entire chain of stock procurement, token minting, user trading, and settlement.

Specifically, Robinhood's European subsidiary holds a Lithuanian securities license, allowing it to legally purchase and custody US stocks, ETFs, private equity, and other assets. Subsequently, tokens (such as TSLA-t, APL-t) are minted on Arbitrum and traded within its own app. Each token transaction synchronizes the on-chain state, with the backend inventory dynamically mapping the real holding situation, ensuring "on-chain total = regulatory custody position." Robinhood also plans to migrate this system to its self-developed Robinhood Chain in the future, achieving complete on-chain autonomy and cross-chain transfer capabilities.

This model's path is relatively difficult to replicate because Robinhood itself, as a regulated entity, has the full chain capabilities of securities issuance, clearing, and dividend execution. Therefore, whether it is off-chain stock procurement, on-chain minting, or trading settlement and fund flow, it can achieve full closed-loop control without relying on third-party custody or matching. The business line is also broader. Although only "OpenAI and SpaceX" stock tokenization has been announced so far, Robinhood has the institutional foundation and technical system to handle everything from stocks to private equity, bonds, RWA, and other real assets.

Contract for Difference (CFD) Model

The CFD path does not touch the stock assets themselves but uses stock prices as the index source, achieving price speculation through platform-set contracts. For example, Bybit provides the TSLAUSDT perpetual contract, whose underlying asset does not hold any Tesla stock, but is based on oracle price sources and market-making logic, providing users with high-leverage, two-way tradable contract products.

The advantages of CFD are also obvious: easy to deploy, quick to launch, and no need for actual stock purchase or custody links, allowing any US stock-related target to be launched. After Bybit TradFi is launched, users can trade most traditional financial assets on the Bybit App, such as oil, gold, stock CFDs, and forex, totaling over 100 assets, and supporting high-frequency trading, leverage operations, and other modes. Since it is not an actual securities issuance, the platform operates only under derivative regulatory standards.

However, the problems with this path are also obvious. CFD is not a "tokenized security" in the true sense, but more like a speculative response to US stock demand by crypto platforms. Users do not actually hold these assets, and the centralized risk is obvious, with the asset structure even riskier than on-chain Memecoins.

Two Sides of a Path: Who Will Win, Robinhood or Coinbase?

As the trend of US stock tokenization heats up, Coinbase and Robinhood, two fintech companies from San Francisco, have embarked on two distinctly different paths. One starts from on-chain infrastructure, attempting to penetrate US regulatory barriers with technology and law, while the other starts from brokerage, first landing a closed-loop scenario in Europe and gradually building a global tokenized trading network.

How Robinhood First Runs Through the "On-Chain Broker" Model?

In today's global exchanges racing to explore tokenized stocks, Robinhood is no longer satisfied with the label of "zero-commission revolutionary" but is attempting to reshape the entire traditional asset trading infrastructure. From the stock tokenization trading launched in Europe to building the Robinhood Chain for global developers, this American brokerage giant is advancing a deeper transformation at an unprecedented pace, bringing stocks, private equity, and even financial derivatives fully into the on-chain world.

Robinhood's on-chain strategy is far from simply mapping real stocks into tokens but revolves around a deep reconstruction of compliance licenses, on-chain clearing, and multi-market collaboration. This also fundamentally distinguishes it from other crypto platforms that only provide token trading. Robinhood is the only one forming a prototype of an "on-chain broker" that connects "broker + Layer2 + real stock custody."

Starting from Europe, Creating the First Compliant Testing Ground for Tokenized Assets

In early June 2025, Robinhood completed the acquisition of the Luxembourg cryptocurrency exchange platform Bitstamp for $200 million in cash. This move added over 50 licenses and registrations to its cryptocurrency department, as well as a mature institutional exchange with over 5,000 institutional clients. Meanwhile, in May, Robinhood announced the acquisition of the Canadian cryptocurrency platform WonderFi for approximately $179 million to strengthen its business in the Canadian market. With this, Robinhood has acquired an important piece in its "US stock tokenization" plan.

At the end of June, Robinhood announced the launch of a stock token trading platform based on Arbitrum in 31 European countries, with over 200 US stocks and ETFs initially launched, and plans to expand to equity tokens of unlisted companies such as SpaceX and OpenAI. These tokens are entirely held and minted by Robinhood itself, ensuring a 1:1 correspondence with real stocks, and supporting real-time dividends and stock splits.

Unlike previous attempts by centralized platforms, Robinhood did not rely on third-party issuing institutions but used its European subsidiary's Lithuanian MiFID securities license to buy real stocks under a compliance framework and place them in regulatory accounts, constructing its own custody-minting-trading closed-loop process. At the same time, Robinhood did not stop at upgrading the token trading interface but simultaneously upgraded the original Robinhood Crypto App to a comprehensive investment platform, integrating perpetual contract trading, cryptocurrency management, on-chain staking, and AI investment assistants into one app, providing a complete investment toolkit to facilitate user migration.

Sound Familiar? Phase One Issuing Coins, Phase Two Seeking Liquidity, Phase Three Decentralized Finance

But the European business is just the first step for Robinhood. The launch of Robinhood Chain is a comprehensive announcement of the future asset internet form. This Layer2 network, built in collaboration with Offchain Labs based on Arbitrum, not only carries all of Robinhood's tokenized asset trading and settlement functions but will also be open to global third-party developers, forming an on-chain ecosystem around real asset issuance.

Its underlying design logic is divided into three phases: the first phase, where Robinhood brokers purchase real stocks and mint on-chain tokens after custody; the second phase, introducing Bitstamp as a supplementary liquidity source, allowing token trading to continue even during traditional market closures on weekends; the final phase, where users can self-custody Robinhood-issued token assets and migrate them to other chains or DeFi protocols for use.

Throughout the process, Robinhood holds the rights to purchase, custody, mint, trade entry, and user relationships, achieving an "on-chain closed loop" where "tokens ≈ stocks." The on-chain is just the accounting layer, with all actions having synchronized counterparts off-chain. This model sacrifices the transferability of tokens but greatly enhances regulatory controllability, paving the way for its subsequent expansion to Robinhood Chain, a global public chain compatible with both traditional financial and blockchain assets.

Robinhood's logic is that since it is a broker, it buys stocks, custodies them, and mints coins itself. Throughout the process, Robinhood holds the rights to purchase, custody, mint, trade entry, and user relationships, achieving an "on-chain closed loop" where "tokens ≈ stocks." The on-chain is just the accounting layer, with all actions having synchronized counterparts off-chain. This model sacrifices the transferability of tokens but greatly enhances regulatory controllability, paving the way for its subsequent expansion to Robinhood Chain, a global public chain compatible with both traditional financial and blockchain assets.

This means that Robinhood is no longer just a terminal trading platform but is transforming into an "on-chain broker base" that integrates asset issuance, clearing, and trading. Particularly noteworthy is Robinhood's layout in private equity, where its tokenized issuance not only breaks the high threshold structure of traditional private investment but may also change the liquidity logic of early-stage technology equity, forming a new species similar to the "crypto primary market." The "ICM" that Solana has been shouting about for a while may be realized on this traditional brokerage end.

Coinbase: Building from the Chain, Seeking "Exchange + Compliant Issuance" Collaboration in Reverse

Although it has not yet launched a stock business, Coinbase, which recently held Circle's listing and brought perpetual contract business back to the US, cannot be ignored here. In fact, Coinbase's logic is another path: first build the infrastructure, then lobby for regulation, seeking licenses, exemptions, or precedent permissions, and then do asset tokenization.

According to Reuters, on June 17, Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stated that relying on its own Base public chain and Layer2 technology stack, as well as a dormant broker-dealer (a securities brokerage business entity not yet activated), it has applied to the SEC for a no-action letter, hoping to obtain legal exemption for tokenized stock products.

Coinbase's plan is that once approved by the SEC, it can issue tokens with equity representation on-chain and complete T+0 settlement, fractional stock splitting, real-time dividends, and other processes with on-chain smart contracts. Its native underlying stablecoin assets, native Layer2 Base, and its own top-tier institutional exchange will bring greater advantages on the "sales side."

Compared to Robinhood's "do first, regulate later," Coinbase chooses a "compliance first" path. This reflects its sensitivity as a US-listed company and is a higher-risk strategy that, once broken through, can "eat the largest piece of the US market."

Technology vs. License, Open Source vs. Closed Loop: Who Can Win the Last Mile?

From the underlying structure, Robinhood is a "license-driven" on-chain broker, while Coinbase is a "infrastructure-driven" on-chain platform. The former takes a closed-loop control path, while the latter seeks open collaboration.

Robinhood currently has full-chain qualifications for securities issuance and stronger capabilities for connecting fractional stocks and real equity; while Coinbase, although it has not yet achieved actual issuance, its Base public chain's technical maturity and exchange-side matching depth give it the potential to become a "global on-chain securities standard network."

This showdown ultimately boils down to a multi-party collaborative game of "who can simultaneously convince users, regulators, and the market." If Robinhood can connect on-chain liquidity + multi-platform linkage, and if Coinbase can get the green light from the SEC, it may directly become the traffic entry for tokenized equity in the US home market. One starts from the traditional industry, the other from cryptocurrency, and this route competition for the future of on-chain securities has just begun.

Although tokenized stocks have made significant progress in technology, compliance, and user experience, their scaling still faces several challenges, such as liquidity fragmentation, high hedging difficulty, complex on-chain dividend and governance, and uneven geopolitical regulation. But from the trend, as giants with compliance qualifications like Robinhood and Coinbase enter the market, tokenized stocks will move from a "gray experiment" to a "legal entry," and the next stage of potential asset transformation is about to arrive.