'Crypto institutionalization' Securitize nears stock market debut... RWA accelerates [Crypto Briefing]

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[The Financial News] The global virtual asset market is rapidly moving toward institutionalization, driven by the near passage of the U.S. market structure bill for virtual assets, the CLARITY Act, in the Senate and the growing likelihood that Securitize, a Real-World Assets (RWA) platform company, will list on the stock market. Analysts expect the Web3 ecosystem, which centered on stablecoins last year, to shift its focus quickly to RWA starting in the second half of this year.
According to foreign media and industry sources on the 26th, the CLARITY Act, which is expected to become a milestone in the institutionalization of virtual assets, is moving toward its final hurdle. The White House and Republicans are increasing their push to pass the bill in July, ahead of the November midterm elections.
As expectations for clearer regulation rise, Securitize, a U.S. RWA infrastructure platform, is nearing its stock market debut. Backed by an investment from BlackRock, Securitize is scheduled to list on Nasdaq in the second half of this year through a SPAC merger vehicle. The company’s estimated market capitalization after listing is about $2 billion to $2.4 billion, according to the financial investment industry.
The reason traditional financial institutions are paying attention to Securitize lies in its straightforward issuance model. While existing RWA platforms have adopted a collateralized issuance method, in which shares are held with a depository institution and corresponding tokens are issued, Securitize uses a native issuance model that issues tokens in consultation with the issuer and fully preserves shareholder rights. That approach is seen as having a strong chance of becoming the industry standard over the long term.
The scale of tokenization in global financial markets also has significant room to expand. According to NH Investment & Securities' research division, if only 10% of the global stock and bond market, worth about $271.8 trillion, were tokenized, the asset base would exceed $27 trillion. BlackRock's move to link its money market fund token, BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), with the decentralized exchange Uniswap is also being interpreted as a strategy to respond to the shift of financial infrastructure onto the blockchain, or on-chain.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also tightening its grip on institutionalization. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, who is seen as pro-crypto, is pushing to introduce an 'innovation exemption' regulatory sandbox to test on-chain stock trading.
Amid this tokenization trend, concerns are also emerging that national financial competitiveness could weaken. According to an analysis report released by Tiger Research, if unlicensed third-party stock tokenization spreads indiscriminately, funds from dominant central exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq could be split across multiple blockchain platforms, leading to so-called 'liquidity fragmentation.' The concern is that this could create price discrepancies between trading platforms, increase execution errors, and undermine overall market efficiency.
South Korea is also approaching a paradigm shift. As revised laws related to Security Token Offering (STO), including the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act and the Act on Electronic Registration of Stocks and Bonds, are set to take effect early next year, detailed guidelines from financial regulators are expected to be announced in July. The General Act on Digital Assets, a second-stage legislative bill whose introduction and discussion were delayed by local election schedules, is also expected to resume in earnest after the elections. Ahead of these regulatory changes, major financial institutions are also racing to expand their territory by securing stakes in virtual asset exchanges and pursuing mergers and acquisitions. By aiming to build a 'financial super app' that allows stocks, funds, and virtual assets to be traded on a single platform, they are seeking to secure next-generation financial infrastructure through the internalization of blockchain technology.
In particular, the Financial Services Commission's move to expand the scope of token securities beyond unconventional assets such as fractional investments to conventional assets such as stocks, bonds, and MMFs has set a milestone for the market. Park Sung-jae, a researcher at Shinhan Securities, said, "Unlike the existing securities infrastructure, where issuance, custody, clearing, settlement, transfer of ownership, and dividend and interest payments are separated across multiple intermediaries, tokenized securities can program investor eligibility checks, interest payments, and collateral use through smart contracts," adding, "As the operating structure of the securities industry changes, highly liquid assets such as bonds and stocks will likely be tokenized first."
A public forum will also be held to examine the rapidly changing paradigm of the virtual asset market and explore new paths for Korean financial institutions. Tokenomy Korea 2026, co-hosted by The Financial News and the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) and sponsored by the Blockchain Law Society of Korea, will be held on the 11th of next month at the Korea Exchange (KRX) conference hall in Yeouido, Seoul.
Under the theme "A New Wave in Investment Portfolios, the Institutionalization of Crypto," Tokenomy Korea will open with a keynote speech by Catherine Chen, head of Binance Institutional, followed by Christopher Jensen, director of digital asset research at global asset manager Franklin Templeton Investments, who will speak on "RWA, a Shift in the Investment Paradigm."
elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter