How Securitize is working with NYSE to bring equities onchain

Summary

• Tokenization of financial assets is a major accelerating trend, with BlackRock's entry in 2024 cited as a key catalyst and Larry Fink referencing a $3 trillion opportunity.
• Securitize and Ava Labs have collaborated since 2017/2018, executing the first SEC no-action letter tokenized security trade in 2018 for SharesPost.
• The industry focus has shifted from illiquid alternative assets to highly liquid assets; tokenized U.S. Treasuries are now the largest category at ~$10-11 billion.
• Securitize has a comprehensive partnership with NYSE to launch a digital ATS for natively tokenized equities, featuring instant settlement. Securitize will act as the transfer agent, design partner, and its broker-dealer will be the first to trade on the venue.
• Avalanche's blockchain was chosen for its deterministic settlement and instant finality, which were critical for Securitize obtaining a European trading and settlement system license from regulators.
• Regulatory clarity has improved: the SEC and OCC have clarified that tokenized securities are securities with unchanged regulatory obligations and accounting treatment.
• Securitize is in the process of going public via a SPAC merger with Counter Equity Partners II, targeting a NASDAQ listing under ticker "SEC".
• The long-term vision is for tokenization to become the default infrastructure for financial assets, moving from a niche label to a ubiquitous standard.
• Permissioned tokenized assets can and do interact with permissionless DeFi protocols (e.g., Aave, Uniswap X) through vault or RFQ integrations.
• The Clarity Act debate is seen as largely irrelevant for tokenized securities, as they are unequivocally securities regulated by existing frameworks.