Publication date: July 2, 2026

Trading Apple or Tesla shares used to be tied to the opening hours of the US stock exchange. More and more platforms now offer digital tokens that track the price of well-known stocks and can be traded around the clock. What at first looked like a small experiment has grown in 2026 into a market where more than half a billion dollars is already being traded directly. On top of that, an even larger amount flows through related derivative products, such as futures and options. Yet a high-profile incident surrounding SpaceX's IPO this month showed that the technology behind it isn't quite as solid everywhere as it seems.

What exactly are tokenized stocks?

A tokenized stock is a digital token on the blockchain that tracks the value of an existing, real stock, such as AAPL for Apple or TSLA for Tesla. In most cases, an issuer actually buys the underlying shares and holds them with a regulated custodian. For every token issued, one real share is, in theory, sitting behind it.

The key difference from owning a regular stock lies in the rights you get. A tokenized stock gives you price exposure, but usually no voting rights and no direct ownership claim on the underlying company. Dividends are often settled automatically by increasing your token balance, rather than paying out to your account.

The barrier to entry is low: you can start trading with just a few dollars or euros, without having to buy an entire share outright. With some providers, tokens can also be transferred to your own wallet. That accessibility is a major reason why this market is growing so fast.

Who offers this, and how fast is it growing?

A handful of players are driving the market. Kraken partners with Swiss issuer Backed Finance under the name xStocks and already offers more than a hundred tokenized stocks and ETFs, with a goal of expanding to more than five hundred this year. Since its launch in mid-2025, more than twenty billion dollars has already been traded through xStocks. Robinhood launched a similar product for European users and expanded its offering from just over two hundred to more than two thousand tokens, with an entry point of just one euro.

Established players from traditional finance are moving in the same direction. In the United States, the securities regulator SEC is working on rules that would allow crypto companies to offer tokenized stocks. In addition, DTCC, a key player that works behind the scenes to help settle stock market transactions, is developing its own tokenization service. It's doing so together with major names such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Nasdaq, and Payward, Kraken's parent company.

The fact that such established financial players are involved shows that tokenized stocks are increasingly being taken seriously. At the same time, mid-June made clear that the technology and infrastructure behind this market aren't without risk yet.

The SpaceX test: what went wrong

During SpaceX's IPO, the promise of tokenized stocks came under serious pressure. Elon Musk's company raised roughly 75 billion dollars in its Nasdaq listing, at a valuation of over 1.7 trillion dollars, making it the largest IPO ever. Major crypto exchanges Binance, Bybit, and Bitget promised users early access to tokenized SpaceX shares via xStocks. Binance alone raised around 557 million dollars from nearly 27,700 users.

When SpaceX actually went public, it turned out xStocks was unable to deliver the underlying shares. All three exchanges cancelled their campaigns and fully refunded users, adding compensation such as interest payments or extra tokens. In total, more than a billion dollars in orders were never fulfilled. Notably, competing products from Ondo Finance and Backpack, which were structured differently, worked just fine. The problem wasn't the blockchain itself, but the old-fashioned step before it: actually securing enough real shares during a massively oversubscribed IPO. And that gets right to the heart of what a tokenized stock is, and isn't.

What does this mean for investors?

The advantages of tokenized stocks are clear: trading outside regular market hours, global accessibility, and the ability to start with small amounts. For anyone who wants to react to news in the evening or on weekends, that's appealing.

At the same time, the SpaceX incident exposes a structural vulnerability. Even when a token is supposed to be fully backed by real shares, you still depend on the issuer, the custodian, and whoever is responsible for actually buying the shares. If that link breaks, you're left empty-handed as an investor, despite all the promises of blockchain transparency.

On top of that, most retail investors can't redeem a tokenized stock for the actual share: you can only sell the token back on the market. Anyone looking purely at the price is therefore holding price exposure, not ownership.

Conclusion

Tokenized stocks show that blockchain is increasingly being used for familiar investment products. At first this mainly happened with things like bonds and real estate, but it now extends to well-known stocks such as Apple and Tesla too. The market is growing fast, and both major crypto companies and well-known names from traditional finance are helping shape its development.

For investors, it's therefore important to understand exactly what you're buying. Tokenized stocks can offer opportunities, but they also come with extra risks that you typically don't have with a regular stock.

Disclaimer: Investing involves risk. Our analysts are not financial advisors. Always consult an advisor before making financial decisions. The information and tips on this website are based on the personal insights and experience of our analysts, and are intended for educational purposes only.