The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's growing openness to tokenized equities could hand an early advantage to Coinbase, Robinhood and Circle, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs and Citizens, who say the regulatory shift opens fresh ground in custody, tokenization infrastructure and stablecoin-based settlement.
Why These Firms Stand to Gain
Analysts argue that the companies best positioned to capitalize on tokenized stocks are those already operating at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain technology. Coinbase brings a mature custody and exchange operation, Robinhood offers a large retail brokerage base eager for new onchain products, and Circle provides the stablecoin rails that could underpin settlement of digitized securities.
The move by regulators to warm to tokenized equities is seen as creating demand across several layers of the emerging market — from the infrastructure needed to mint and manage tokenized assets to the payment mechanisms that clear trades quickly and around the clock.
The firms bridging Wall Street and blockchain may be the first to reap the rewards of tokenized stocks.
New Revenue Streams Emerging
According to the analysts, brokers now have room to broaden their offerings by putting equities and other assets onchain, potentially unlocking round-the-clock trading and faster settlement. Stablecoins, meanwhile, could become the preferred settlement layer, benefiting issuers like Circle whose tokens are built for digital transactions.
The opportunities identified by Goldman Sachs and Citizens span multiple parts of the value chain that tokenization is expected to reshape.
- Custody services for tokenized securities
- Tokenization infrastructure to issue and manage digital assets
- Stablecoin settlement for faster, always-on transactions
- Expanded onchain product lineups for brokerages
While the SEC's push is still taking shape, analysts suggest the companies with existing crypto expertise and established user bases could move fastest to capture the first wave of activity as traditional and digital markets continue to converge.