Brian Armstrong says all assets are moving onchain as tokenized stocks surge

Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong noted on X that all asset classes are moving onchain as tokenized stocks gain momentum.

He commented, “All asset classes are moving onchain. Tokenized stocks and stablecoins (which are really just tokenized fiat currency) are growing fast, with more to come.”

Earlier, in late September, the executive had also highlighted the surging demand for their tokenized U.S. stocks. Coinbase’s offerings enjoyed a massive launch, with their holder count on the Base network skyrocketing by 9,697% in a single month.

Speaking on the number of holders, Armstrong said, “Very early days, but good traction so far.”

Coinbase introduced four stocks for its first batch in August

Coinbase introduced tokenized assets to eligible users worldwide outside the USA in August. Each of these tokens was designed to provide the holder with the opportunity to buy publicly traded stock, which will give him/her both dividend and voting rights.

While introducing tokenization, Armstrong noted that Coinbase is not limited to tokenizing public companies, but private companies, government securities, and funds may be added as well.

For its first batch, it offered four stocks: NVIDIA (NVDAc), Meta (METAc), Apple (AAPLc), and Alphabet (GOOGLc). Now, these tokenized assets are still limited to U.S. citizens, although one can access them via decentralized platforms such as Uniswap or Aerodrome using a virtual private network. 

Tokenized stocks could expand access to traditional markets

Tokenized stocks represent shares or stock-related economic exposure through blockchain-based tokens. Depending on the product’s structure, they may provide investors with access to price movements in traditional equities via blockchain-based platforms, subject to applicable restrictions.

However, token holders do not automatically receive the same ownership, voting, or dividend rights as traditional shareholders. These rights depend on the issuer and the legal structure of each token.

Blockchain-based trading can also help in faster settlement, and tokenized assets can be used on decentralized finance platforms. However, liquidity, regulatory compliance, custody arrangements, and investor protections are all important as the market develops.

Overall, the month saw record-breaking performances in tokenized equity markets. Spot volumes totaled around $3 billion in the first week of the month. Robinhood Chain, BNB Chain, and Solana together accounted for the majority of market share. During that time, only 5% of the tokenized equity market was on on-chain finance.

Now, Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong believes that all asset classes will be moving onchain. 

So far, analysts have argued that regulatory certainty is a necessary precondition for the further development of the tokenization market. The Securities and Exchange Commission just introduced a regulatory sandbox program that gives an opportunity to trade selected tokenized U.S. equities on the distributed ledgers under certain exemptions from the traditional exchange and dealer registration requirements. 

Within the “Innovation Exemption” program, eligible tokenized asset platforms are not considered exchanges, while automated market makers are exempt from the requirement to act as broker-dealers.

The stablecoin market increased to $313 billion in September

Meanwhile, the stablecoin market expanded 1.29% to $313 billion in September, securing its second straight month of growth. Even so, its market dominance fell from 11.3% to 10.5% as the broader crypto market outpaced it, surging 8.46%.

Trading volume has so far outpaced supply growth. Centralized exchange stablecoin pairs surged 24.8% to $1.01 trillion, hitting their highest level since March. Tether maintained a dominant 58.7% market share at $184 billion. USDC grew slightly to $74.6 billion following Circle’s Arc mainnet launch on September 16. Ethena’s USDe led the top ten with a 20.2% jump to $4.90 billion, while Circle’s USYC suffered the steepest decline, falling 13.4% to $2.40 billion.

The total tokenized RWA market cap was stable, but the composition changed. Tokenized bonds and money market funds fell by 8.1% to $17.3 billion, and thus the market share dropped to 50.5%. Private credit grew 7.15% to $5.62 billion, and tokenized commodities climbed 7.43% to $6.43 billion, led by Tether Gold’s $3.46 billion. Tokenized equities reached a record $4.87 billion, up 13.7% and taking their market share to 14.2%.