Grayscale highlights tokenized equities as key blockchain adoption driver in finance

The three models — and where the alpha sits

Grayscale's framework breaks tokenized equities into three tiers. The first and most common right now is the third-party wrapper model: someone holds the real stock, and a token representing it trades on-chain. This accounts for over 70% of tokenized stocks by market cap today — think Backed Finance's Apple and Microsoft tokens available through Bybit, Kraken, and integrated into Solana's DeFi ecosystem.

The second tier involves regulated entitlement systems — most notably the DTCC's pilot on the Canton Network, which handles virtually all US equity clearing. The third and most ambitious is direct on-chain issuance, where companies issue equity natively on a blockchain. Securitize has become the poster child here, tokenizing its own common stock alongside its NYSE listing.

For us, the practical takeaway is directional: the infrastructure layer being built across these three models is still incredibly early. Current tokenized asset value sits at roughly $30 billion — about 0.01% of the $300 trillion global securities market. Year-over-year growth hit 217%, mostly driven by US Treasuries so far. That gap between 0.01% and meaningful adoption is exactly where protocols tend to reward early users retroactively.

Protocols and networks worth watching

The blockchain rails handling this migration span Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and hybrid networks like Canton built for institutional privacy and compliance. Backed Finance's tokenized equities are already live on Solana DeFi, meaning you can interact with these instruments today through platforms that support them.

Here's our checklist for what to keep on your radar:

• Backed Finance — already shipping tokenized stocks with DeFi integrations. Active on-chain interaction with their contracts or supported platforms could position you if they ever launch a token or retroactive program.
• Securitize — the first public company to tokenize its common stock on-chain. No native token reported yet, but a protocol facilitating direct equity issuance is exactly the type of infrastructure that rewards early community.
• Canton Network / DTCC pilot — institutional-grade and permissioned, so less accessible for retail interaction today, but worth monitoring for future open participation windows.
• Base — has been amplifying posts related to the B20 standard, which ties into broader tokenization adoption narratives. Keeping an eye on Base-native tokenization initiatives could surface new interaction opportunities.

What to actually do next

We're not here to speculate on price — we're here to position ourselves where value accrues to early users. With a projected 1,000x growth trajectory in tokenized assets, the protocols building this infrastructure are exactly the kind of projects that historically distribute tokens to their earliest on-chain participants.

Start by bridging assets to Solana if you haven't already, and interacting with Backed Finance's tokenized stock products through supported DeFi platforms. Track Securitize's on-chain footprint for any new contract deployments or ecosystem integrations. And keep a watchlist of tokenization-focused protocols on Ethereum and Avalanche — the earlier we interact with live contracts, the stronger our position if and when retroactive distributions land.

The bottom line: tokenized equities are moving from concept to infrastructure, and the window to be early on the protocols facilitating that shift is still wide open. Let's use it.