Over the past few years, "tokenized stocks" have been hailed as the ideal bridge between the crypto world and traditional securities markets. Investors could trade tokenized shares of companies like Apple and Tesla directly on-chain, bypassing conventional brokerage accounts and gaining round-the-clock exposure to US stock prices.
However, as global regulatory scrutiny intensifies and crypto exchanges pursue compliant product strategies, tokenized stocks are facing unprecedented challenges. At the same time, a more sustainable solution—direct access to real US stock trading through crypto exchanges—is rapidly emerging.
In June 2026, Gate officially launched its real stock trading service, becoming one of the few platforms to break down barriers between crypto assets and traditional securities. Will tokenized stocks gradually disappear from the market?
The "Triple Dilemma" of Tokenized Stocks: Why Their Future Remains Uncertain
The core concept behind tokenized stocks is to represent publicly traded company shares as blockchain tokens, allowing investors to hold tokens instead of actual shares. This model has attracted significant experimentation in recent years, but its challenges are becoming increasingly apparent.
Escalating Regulatory Risks
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has maintained a tightening stance on tokenized securities. In July 2025, SEC Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce stated unequivocally that regardless of blockchain technology, the nature of tokenized securities remains unchanged—they still fall under securities regulation. In August of the same year, the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the largest global association of securities exchanges, formally warned the SEC, the European Securities and Markets Authority, and other regulators, urging strict oversight of tokenized stocks. The WFE pointed out that while these products mimic stocks, they do not offer equivalent shareholder rights and lack the transparency and regulatory protections of traditional exchanges.
This regulatory warning is not unfounded. Even within the industry, Coinbase formally sought SEC approval for a tokenized stock service in June 2025. According to procedure, Coinbase must obtain a "no-action letter" or exemption from the SEC, which underscores that tokenized stock services are currently not permitted in the US.
Substantial Loss of Investor Rights
The most controversial issue with tokenized stocks is that investors do not become registered shareholders of the underlying company. The WFE CEO made it clear: these products are marketed as tokenized stocks or stock equivalents, but in reality, they are not—investors cannot access dividends, voting rights, or other core shareholder benefits.
In other words, investors only gain "price tracking" functionality, not genuine economic ownership. During bull markets, this may not be a central concern, but in downturns or during major corporate events, the lack of rights can become a significant liability.
Rising Compliance Barriers
As global regulatory frameworks become more robust, compliance costs are on the rise. An industry research report from October 2025 noted that the tokenized stock market is almost entirely dominated by two firms—Backed and Ondo Global Markets—with high market concentration and most platforms operating in regulatory gray areas.
Against this backdrop, more platforms are reassessing the sustainability of tokenized stocks. The question may no longer be "how far can tokenized stocks go," but rather "what do investors truly need?"
Gate’s New Answer: Real US Stock Trading Goes Live
On June 1, 2026, Gate officially launched its real stock trading service, followed by the rollout of its Web platform on June 12, achieving comprehensive coverage across both App and Web. Gate’s stock trading features and highlights include:
Broad Coverage: Gate’s US stock trading service supports all major US markets, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, and BATS, covering over 10,000 stocks and ETFs. In addition to US stocks, Gate has added Hong Kong stock trading, supporting more than 1,000 HK-listed securities. On June 9, Gate further introduced IPO Access, with the first project focused on SpaceX. Users can submit subscription requests before the company’s official listing, and once allocated, shares are credited directly to their Gate stock account for real trading.
USDT Settlement: Users can trade stocks and ETFs directly with USDT, eliminating cumbersome fiat conversion steps and enabling unified management of crypto assets and traditional securities within a single account system.
Fractional Shares: The platform supports investments starting from just 0.01 shares. Even for high-priced tech stocks like NVIDIA, Tesla, and Apple, users can participate with as little as $1.
Extended Trading Hours: Gate offers both pre-market and after-hours trading, expanding trading windows to 16×5 and allowing users to access more US stock market timeframes.
Compliance Infrastructure: Strategic Partnership with Alpaca
Gate’s real stock trading is not a "synthetic product" or "derivative." Instead, it leverages compliant brokerage channels to facilitate genuine US stock investments.
On June 3, Gate announced a comprehensive clearing agreement with Alpaca, an SEC-registered clearing broker. Through this compliant infrastructure, Gate provides users with a complete end-to-end US stock service chain, including trade execution, clearing and settlement, custody, dividend distribution, and corporate action processing.
This model differs from tokenized stocks in structural ways:
- Asset Ownership: Stocks are held by regulated brokerage partners. Users’ holdings are real and transferable, with the option to move shares to other brokers in the future, rather than being confined to a closed platform ecosystem.
- Shareholder Rights: Users receive dividends and other entitlements automatically, with the platform crediting dividends directly to accounts. Investors do not need to handle complex corporate actions themselves.
- Robust Compliance: Gate Group holds 12 financial licenses across multiple jurisdictions, including US MSB, EU MiCA, Dubai VARA, and other core regulatory credentials. Operational processes adhere to international anti-money laundering and customer identity verification standards.
The Future of Tokenized Stocks: Replacement or Coexistence?
The launch of real US stock trading does not mean tokenized stocks will vanish overnight, but it does raise a critical question: When users can directly own real shares in a compliant, secure, and cost-effective environment, how much room remains for tokenized stocks?
For international users, traditional US brokerage accounts often involve complex procedures, high capital requirements, and foreign exchange costs. Gate’s real stock trading service allows users to participate in the US market with USDT, without needing overseas brokerage accounts, offering unique convenience.
Compared to tokenized stocks, which only offer "price tracking," real US stock trading delivers clear advantages in asset ownership, regulatory protection, and cross-platform liquidity. It’s likely that tokenized stocks will shift toward niche markets or regions where compliance pathways are not yet defined, while mainstream crypto exchanges integrating compliant US stock infrastructure will lead industry development.
Conclusion
Regulatory pressures and the lack of shareholder rights make the long-term outlook for tokenized stocks highly uncertain. Since 2025, ongoing SEC scrutiny, joint warnings from global exchange alliances, and industry reevaluation of compliant products all point in the same direction: the integration of crypto and traditional securities markets requires more sustainable solutions.
Gate took the lead in June 2026. With real trading coverage for over 10,000 US stocks and ETFs, seamless USDT settlement, compliant infrastructure via Alpaca, and a complete IPO Access product chain, Gate is turning the vision of "crypto asset and traditional finance integration" into reality.
For investors, the real choice may not be "tokenized or real stocks," but rather "on which platform and in what manner can you safely and efficiently participate in global capital markets."
