Tokenized Stocks Jump 5x in 2026 as First US Regulated Venues Approach

What happened

Tokenized-stock assets under management hit $4.43 billion as of mid-September 2026, up 390.4% from about $900 million in January — nearly five times bigger in nine months. Tokenized equities now make up 13.0% of the real-world-asset (RWA) market, up from 4.9% in January, while the broader RWA market reached $34.18 billion, up 85.2% year-to-date. Equities contributed 22.4% of this year’s RWA growth.

Usage is deepening too: the share of tokenized equities actually deployed in on-chain finance rose from 1.95% to 7.54%, with 65.4% sitting in liquidity pools and 28.1% in lending.

In the US, the SEC’s September 17 “Innovation Exemption” would let Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs) tokenize NYSE-listed stocks and trade them on public blockchains using automated market makers and liquidity pools. The conditional exemption runs five years: tokenized shares must carry the same dividends and voting rights as the underlying stock, and companies get a 30-day window to object to third-party tokenization of their shares. SEC crypto task force senior adviser Taylor Lindeman said the first TSV operator announcement is likely next quarter, with a steady stream of inquiries already coming in.

Why it matters

This is the moment tokenized stocks stop being an offshore DeFi experiment and enter a regulated US framework. If the first operators go live in Q4 as expected, US investors could trade tokenized Apple, Nvidia and Tesla shares on-chain 24/7 with real settlement — a structural change to equity market access, liquidity and settlement. The 390% growth shows issuers are already racing ahead of the rules.

Key figures

• Tokenized-stock AUM: $4.43 billion, up 390.4% YTD from ~$900 million
• Share of RWA market: 13.0%, up from 4.9% in January
• Broader RWA market: $34.18 billion, up 85.2% YTD
• On-chain deployment: 7.54% (up from 1.95%); 65.4% in liquidity pools, 28.1% in lending
• SEC Innovation Exemption: five-year conditional window; first TSV announcements expected next quarter

What to watch

Watch for the first TSV operating-plan announcements next quarter, which stocks list first, and how Coinbase and Robinhood respond. The bigger question is whether the five-year exemption gets converted into permanent rules — that is the make-or-break for the sector.

Would you trade tokenized Apple or Nvidia shares around the clock on-chain, or do you prefer keeping your equities in a traditional brokerage — and why? Let us know in the comments.

Sources

Binance Research; SEC Innovation Exemption announcement; Crypto in America interview with SEC senior adviser Taylor Lindeman.

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Auto-posted by the Bull Lounge news desk.

Not financial advice.