Securitize CEO pitches tokenized stocks and ETFs as the next $5T RWA leg
Carlos Domingo pointed to NYSE and Computershare partnerships as steps toward on-chain equity trading and settlement.
Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo told an ETHConf panel in New York that tokenized equities and ETFs could expand the tokenized asset market from roughly $30 billion to as much as $5 trillion. He tied the upside case to small penetration of a much larger global equities/ETF base and highlighted partnerships aimed at on-chain trading and settlement.
Key Takeaways
- Tokenized equities and ETFs were positioned at ETHConf in New York as the next major growth engine for tokenized assets.
- The tokenized asset sector was framed at roughly $30 billion today, with a pathway to as much as $5 trillion if stocks and ETFs move on-chain.
- A $150 trillion global equities and ETF market was used to justify the upside math, with 2%–3% on-chain penetration approaching $5 trillion.
- Partnerships with the New York Stock Exchange and Computershare were cited as early infrastructure steps toward on-chain equity trading and settlement.
Domingo’s $5T Tokenized Stocks/ETFs Thesis at ETHConf
Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo used an ETHConf panel in New York to re-anchor the tokenization conversation away from the category that has dominated recent RWA growth: tokenized U.S. Treasuries. His claim was directional and market-structure driven. Tokenized equities and ETFs, not private credit or Treasury products, are the asset class he expects to push RWAs “into the trillions.”
Domingo framed the current tokenized asset sector at roughly $30 billion, then argued that bringing stocks and exchange-traded funds on-chain could expand that figure to as much as $5 trillion. For traders, that’s a narrative catalyst aimed squarely at the next leg of the RWA trade, with Ethereum explicitly positioned as the institutional rail of choice.
He also argued the end state is not a wholesale replacement of TradFi plumbing overnight. “The traditional markets are going to stay,” Domingo said. “We’re going to see a new market emerge in parallel that will run on blockchain rails and be much more efficient.”
The Math Behind the Pitch: $150T Equities/ETFs and 2%–3% On-Chain
The $5 trillion number was presented as a penetration-rate exercise, not a time-bound forecast. Domingo sized the addressable market bluntly: “The entire equities and ETF market worldwide is probably like $150 trillion,” he said. “Only if a small percentage of that, like 2% or 3%, moves onchain, it gets you very close to that $5 trillion.”
That framing matters because it separates “big number” storytelling from near-term catalysts. Without a timeline, the projection is hard to translate into a schedule of flows, revenue, or chain-level fee capture. It functions more like a ceiling-setting argument for why equities/ETFs could eventually dwarf today’s on-chain Treasury footprint, rather than a trigger for immediate repricing.
‘Real’ vs Synthetic Tokenized Stocks: Ownership, Voting, and Dividends
Domingo drew a hard line between direct-ownership tokenized equities and the stock-like tokens already circulating in parts of the market. He criticized many blockchain-based stock offerings, particularly outside the U.S., as derivatives or synthetic structures rather than “real” tokenized equities.
His definition of “real” tokenized equities is explicit: direct ownership of the underlying shares with shareholder-style rights like voting and dividends, plus blockchain-native features such as instant settlement, 24/7 transferability, and tighter integration with decentralized finance.
That distinction is more than semantics. It implies the next wave of tokenized equities will be shaped by compliance constraints, transfer restrictions, and shareholder recordkeeping, not just token wrappers that track a price.
Execution Signals: NYSE + Computershare Partnerships and the Road to On-Chain Settlement
The concrete datapoints in Domingo’s pitch were Securitize’s announced partnerships with the New York Stock Exchange and transfer agent Computershare, described as aimed at enabling on-chain trading and settlement of equities.
Domingo also argued public blockchains, particularly Ethereum, are preferred for institutional tokenization despite transparency and compliance concerns. Securitize’s approach is to use smart contracts to restrict ownership to approved investors while still allowing assets to move on permissionless networks.
For market participants, the partnerships read as “plumbing” signals, but the packet does not include launch dates, jurisdictions, product scope, or regulatory pathway details. That missing specificity is the gap between a credible direction of travel and something traders can price as imminent.
Trading the RWA Narrative Without Confusing Projections for Catalysts
I treat Domingo’s $5 trillion as a clean thought experiment: 2%–3% penetration of a $150 trillion pool. It’s useful for anchoring the long-run TAM argument and for rotating the RWA narrative from Treasuries toward equities/ETFs, especially inside the Ethereum orbit where he’s explicitly placing the institutional rails.
The threshold that matters is whether the NYSE and Computershare relationships turn into dated pilots with jurisdiction and regulatory clarity, and whether the product confers real shareholder rights rather than synthetic exposure. If those details arrive, the setup starts to look structural rather than narrative-driven, and that’s when “tokenized equities” stops being a slogan and starts becoming a settlement and liquidity story traders can actually model.
