Why Only Issuers Should Be Able to Tokenize Stock, Says Carlos Domingo

Summary

Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, explains why only issuers should control tokenized stock and warns that unauthorized offshore tokenized equity derivatives pose serious legal, counterparty, and insider-trading risks. He details Securitize’s own dual public listing and tokenization, the role of transfer agents, SEC Rule 611 and its planned repeal, and the upcoming New York Stock Exchange digital ATS. The conversation also covers institutional caution and the need for crypto to mature to attract larger capital.

• Carlos Domingo explains why Securitize went public early and tokenized $265M of its own stock on Solana and Avalanche.
• He distinguishes three tokenization models: issuer-sponsored via transfer agents, DTCC entitlement tokenization, and unauthorized offshore derivatives.
• He warns that many tokenized equities trading offshore are not real stock but debt instruments lacking issuer authorization and investor protections.
• The risk of insider trading is highlighted when permissionless derivatives allow anonymous trading before earnings.
• He discusses SEC Rule 611 (order protection rule) and the potential repeal that could free on-chain equity pricing from off-chain prices.
• The NYSE is developing a digital ATS (launching Q4) to enable regulated on-chain trading of tokenized equities and ETFs, with Securitize as a design partner.
• Large institutions remain cautious about tokenization due to regulatory and reputational risks, slowing broader adoption.
• He sees convergence between real-world assets and DeFi, particularly using high-quality RWA collateral, as a future growth area.