Securitizes

Whether Wall Street’s interest in tokenization translates into demand for companies closely tied to the technology is set to be tested next week alongside Securitize’s expected debut.

The BlackRock-backed firm, which specializes in digital representations of real-world assets, announced plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SECZ,” following the completion of a merger with a Cantor Fitzgerald-backed blank-check firm.

The transaction’s realization inched closer this week when investors owning less than 30% of Cantor Equity Partners II’s common shares elected to redeem their holdings in the SPAC. As a result, Securitize expects to receive roughly $400 million in proceeds from the combination and related private financing ahead of the deal’s closing.

Securitize’s public debut, coming eight years after the firm was established, marks a pivotal milestone for tokenization, underscoring the technology’s shift from abstract market plumbing to an emerging bedrock for modern finance, according to CEO Carlos Domingo.

“The idea that major institutions would embrace tokenized securities was still largely theoretical,” he said. “Today, tokenization is moving into the mainstream, and we believe becoming a public company gives us the visibility, credibility, and capital to lead.”

In recent years, Securitize has become a familiar resource for institutions beyond the world’s largest asset manager—which tapped the firm for a tokenized money market fund in 2024—such as Apollo, BNY, Hamilton Lane, and KKR. In March, Securitize unveiled an agreement with the NYSE itself to develop systems for blockchain-native securities.

Securitize noted that, as of June, the company had more than $4 billion worth of assets under management. By far, the largest product that the firm services is BlackRock’s BUIDL, which was valued at $2.4 billion on Friday, according to RWA.xyz.

As infrastructure giants like DTCC wade deeper into the space, Domingo has advocated for “native” tokenization, arguing that securities must be issued directly on-chain rather than wrapped in digital shells in order to achieve their full potential at scale.

Last month, the SEC reportedly delayed an innovation exemption for tokenized stocks after concerns were raised about third-party issuers, which have the potential to complicate corporate actions and governance duties via tokens issued on-chain, per Bloomberg.

Since becoming SEC chair, Paul Atkins has described tokenization as technology that has the “potential to transform markets” through streamlined trading, echoing comments made by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink during the crypto market depths in 2022.