Coinbase, Robinhood, Circle could be early winners of SEC's tokenized-stock push, analysts say
Goldman Sachs and Citizens analysts said the agency's move create new opportunities in custody, tokenization infrastructure and stablecoin settlement, while giving brokers room to expand onchain products.
The SEC’s tokenized-stock experiment may be narrow for now, but analysts are already pointing to Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD) and Circle (CRCL) as potential beneficiaries if more U.S. securities move onchain.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s five-year innovation exemption creates a path for tokenized U.S. stocks to trade through automated market makers on public blockchains. To qualify, the tokens must preserve shareholder rights such as dividends and voting, while venues face limits on trading volume and the number of stocks they can offer.
Its existing tokenized-equity offering already has many of the characteristics required by the SEC, including shareholder rights and dividends comparable with the underlying stock, the analysts said. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also said earlier this week that voting rights are “coming soon,” a key piece in giving token holders the same rights as investors in the underlying shares.
Those products provide price exposure to U.S. shares through a derivative without conveying the full ownership rights required under the exemption. Goldman analysts said Robinhood would need additional product development to offer a compliant version in the U.S.