A new loophole just proved you don’t actually own your shares – but the fix is already live on Solana
The SEC-registered switch agent, Superstate, just enabled direct issuance of SEC-registered shares on Ethereum and Solana, settling main gross sales in stablecoins and recording possession to a switch agent’s ledger that treats the blockchain as the grasp file.
The firm’s Direct Issuance Programs let issuers ship tokens that signify the similar authorized fairness with voting and dividend rights, paid for with stablecoins and delivered to KYC wallets at real-time costs.
The transfer shifts a part of the issuance workflow from DTCC-only infrastructure towards public blockchains whereas holding switch agent controls and securities legislation obligations intact.
The first live implementation is Galaxy Digital, which tokenized its SEC-registered widespread inventory on Solana via Superstate.
According to Galaxy’s investor web site, 32,374 GLXY shares have been tokenized as of early September 2025, establishing a template for on-chain cap tables that synchronize with a registered switch agent.
The mechanics matter for governance and company actions, since each permitted switch updates useful possession on the RTA’s books, and dividends or splits might be executed via sensible contracts administered by the agent.
A May 2025 employees FAQ acknowledged {that a} blockchain can function the official Master Securityholder File for a registered switch agent, in accordance with a Simpson Thacher summary, which gives a regulatory basis for these cap desk fashions.
Distribution is getting ready to observe issuance
Backpack alternate has said it can listing SEC-registered, natively tokenized U.S. equities by way of an integration with Superstate, beginning with non-U.S. entry whereas pursuing U.S. broker-dealer and ATS paths.
The venue mannequin positions wallets, KYC rails, and whitelisted order movement as the entrance door for buyers with out artificial wrappers or SPV constructions. That distinction is a key clarification for 2025, following episodes the place tokenized inventory advertising created confusion between on-chain exposures and precise registered fairness, as reported by Business Insider in the context of artificial choices.
The near-term contest is about who controls the cap desk and the order books. If the switch agent and the chain type the golden supply of possession for KYC’d wallets, then distribution and secondary buying and selling can route via a mixture of compliant venues that talk to that ledger.
Broker-dealers, ATSs, and conventional market facilities will compete with wallet-native venues and whitelisted AMMs that plug into switch agent hooks.
The SEC has not granted a bespoke path for AMMs to commerce NMS securities, and any AMM that routes orders in NMS securities would wish to adjust to current frameworks reminiscent of Reg ATS, truthful entry, surveillance obligations, and short-sale guidelines.
Agency statements have harassed that tokenization is not a shortcut and that market integrity guidelines nonetheless apply.
Plumbing round the new rails is beginning to join
DTCC launched a tokenized collateral platform and briefed the SEC’s Crypto Task Force on tokenization companies that might lengthen into pledging and company motion workflows, in accordance with DTCC public supplies and SEC documentation.
Nasdaq filed to allow tokenized securities buying and selling on its major market when rights are equal, with a timeline as quickly as the third quarter of 2026 if DTC infrastructure is prepared, in accordance with Reuters.
These efforts level to a hybrid stage during which DTC-eligible positions coexist with tokenized cap desk entries, and during which conversion or pledge features bridge the two. Issuers searching for broader distribution could rely on this bridge for street-name positions whereas working main issuance home windows on-chain in stablecoins.
Issuance workflow is the speedy change. Superstate’s Direct Issuance lets firms increase capital on to wallets, take stablecoin proceeds, and file new possession on-chain beneath the switch agent’s supervision.
Follow-ons and at-the-market packages can run outdoors conventional market hours, with T≈0 settlement and programmable constraints reminiscent of switch restrictions or on-chain accreditation checks. For small and mid-cap issuers, that will increase addressable demand in non-U.S. time zones as soon as compliant venues, KYC pipelines, and custodial choices are live.
For buyers, the custody mannequin flips from omnibus road identify at brokers to wallet-native useful possession tied to the switch agent’s ledger, topic to whitelisting and rescission powers required for regulatory and sanctions compliance.
Secondary buying and selling is the constraint
Backpack’s plan factors to a centralized entry layer for tokenized shares outdoors the U.S., whereas U.S. flows hinge on broker-dealer and ATS permissions utilized to tokens which might be the precise securities.
AMMs are technically simple on-chain, but their regulatory standing is unresolved for NMS. Three outcomes body 2026: whitelisted AMMs acknowledged as ATSs, AMMs restricted and centralized order books dominate, or a hybrid during which AMMs function for non-NMS or smaller issuers whereas NMS stays on central restrict order books.
The SEC’s posture, together with Commissioner statements, emphasizes that tokenization should match inside the current regulatory perimeter relatively than invent a separate lane.
The RTA’s expanded position is the throughline. With the blockchain as the grasp securityholder file, switch brokers mediate whitelist controls, error correction, rescission, and audit trails for on-chain transfers.
That locations brokers at the chokepoints for company actions and governance. Wallets and venues with robust KYC and sanctions tooling grow to be distribution companions that may feed the grasp file with clear knowledge.
Stablecoin issuers profit from main settlement volumes, and custodians will adapt to carry tokens immediately or via managed pockets architectures that meet Rule 15c3-3 and comparable custody expectations when broker-dealers intermediate.
A sensible query for issuers is how tokenized shares interaction with DTC positions. DTCC’s tokenization packages focus first on collateral, with scope to increase into securities workflows.
Nasdaq’s submitting assumes that DTC infrastructure is prepared earlier than token-settled trades sit on the similar order e book.
Until a seamless conversion path is in manufacturing, many issuers could preserve parallel rails, utilizing DTC for mainstream alternate buying and selling and utilizing on-chain issuance for focused capital formation, dividend distribution experiments, or managed secondary transfers amongst whitelisted wallets.
The bridge timing will decide how rapidly on-chain liquidity can attain parity with street-name liquidity.
The metrics to look at are simple
How many issuers enroll in Superstate’s Opening Bell stack, what number of shares excellent grow to be token transferable, and what number of on-chain holders seem on the grasp file, which Superstate says it maintains as a registered switch agent.
How a lot main issuance settles in stablecoins every month? How a lot quantity Backpack and different compliant venues route for tokenized equities, particularly in non-U.S. markets? How DTCC’s tokenized collateral community scales and whether or not DTC conversion or company motion bridges for tokenized fairness enter testing.
Each knowledge level will describe whether or not this is primarily a settlement improve or the begin of a new order movement channel.
The 2026 setup is sure by the public milestones and in the present day’s working programs. Galaxy’s tokenization demonstrates that issuers can subject actual shares on-chain beneath switch agent management. Superstate’s Direct Issuance opens wallet-native primaries with stablecoin money legs.
DTCC and Nasdaq have articulated timelines that might make token legs seen inside mainstream market plumbing by late 2026, if the infrastructure aligns. SEC employees have already made room for on-chain grasp recordsdata, whereas broader secondary buying and selling permissions stay beneath evaluation.
That leaves a hybrid market construction via 2026, with stablecoin settlement, whitelisted wallets, and switch brokers anchoring cap tables as venues compete to regulate the order movement that sits on prime.
| 2026 state of affairs | Issuers | Token-enabled float | Daily on-chain quantity | Trading construction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 5–8 | $0.5–1.5B | $2–8M | CLOB venues dominate whereas on-chain used for primaries and managed transfers |
| Base case | 12–20 | $3–7B | $15–40M | Hybrid, stablecoin-settled primaries widespread, early bridges to DTC |
| Bull | 30–50 | $10–25B | $80–200M | Whitelisted AMMs run as ATS analogs alongside alternate order books |
Issuers, switch brokers, venues, and infrastructure suppliers now have a working path to maneuver SEC-registered shares from DTCC-only rails to public blockchains.
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