Recently, Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating its intent to enter the age of tokenized, or digital securities. While insiders have long anticipated this inevitable evolution of securities markets, the fact that one of the largest securities exchanges in the world is embracing tokenization is a seminal event in the history of markets.
In a blog post, Nasdaq said one of their goals in pursuing tokenization is they want to prevent a fractured market of different versions of the same assets across multiple blockchains, simultaneously offering tokenized securities trading but not working well together—especially if the rules do not apply equally.” Nasdaq cautioned that fragmentation could harm markets while taking a shot at some platforms that are already offering tokenized securities.
Of interest is the fact that Nasdaq soon followed the filing with a significant investment in Gemini Space Station (NASDAQ:GEMI), a crypto exchange and infrastructure provider, which just became a public company.
Last week, CI connected with Joris Delanoue, CEO and co-founder of Fairmint, to discuss how Nasdaq’s move to make tokenized equity a mainstream reality. Our discussion is shared below.
Will Nasdaq’s filing usher in the new era of digital securities or tokenized stocks with other exchanges following?
Joris Delanoue: Nasdaq’s filing is a key moment in the evolution of equity markets, signaling that the future of equity ownership will likely become more digital and programmable. While it may not immediately prompt national exchanges to follow suit, this move demonstrates that tokenized securities are a step toward modernization. Other exchanges may eventually adapt their strategies in response to Nasdaq’s leadership, as the industry recognizes the long-term benefits of tokenization.
How does this impact platforms that are already offering public shares in tokenized form?
Joris Delanoue: Platforms offering tokenized public shares, like Robinhood or Kraken, have done an important job in educating the market and proving there’s demand for tokenized equity. However, many of these solutions are limited in that they don’t offer actual ownership of the shares but rather represent claims on shares held by intermediaries. For tokenization to make a more significant impact, these platforms will need to move beyond their current models and ensure that tokenized equity reflects true ownership, without relying on intermediaries or added complexities.
What about private securities being tokenized? What about tokenized assets that “mirror” private securities?
Joris Delanoue: When we talk about tokenizing private securities, we mean the actual securities themselves are issued and governed directly on-chain, with ownership, rights, and transfers embedded within the ledger. This is fundamentally different from mirrored assets, which are just tokens pointing back to off-chain securities. While mirrors can be useful for experimentation, they don’t address the legal or operational frictions.
True on-chain securities embed ownership and rights directly in the smart contract — the token serves as a pointer, but the contract is the law. It’s not enough to mint tokens on-chain; the security itself must be natively on-chain. At Fairmint, we’ve already proven this in practice, having issued and managed over $1B of equity directly on-chain.
You mention standardization. Can you speak to what you envision for setting standards in markets?
Joris Delanoue: Standardization ensures that tokenized securities are interoperable across different platforms and exchanges. Without clear standards, tokenized equity could become fragmented, with each platform operating in silos. This fragmentation not only creates operational complexity but also weakens the overall market by fragmenting liquidity. If silos exist, the liquidity becomes fragmented, and the market is less efficient. For example, if you can trade Robinhood-issued SpaceX shares on Binance, you effectively maximize the market, increasing liquidity and creating more opportunities for stakeholders.
Universal standards will allow tokenized securities to represent the same rights across platforms, making it easier for stakeholders to engage with them and enabling more efficient transactions. This would also support automated compliance, further reducing operational complexity.
While existing securities will all become digital over time, what about novel assets? What do you envision for new or novel assets which may now be traded on exchanges and marketplaces?
Joris Delanoue: Bringing securities on-chain is more than just digitizing existing assets; it’s a bridge to DeFi composability. Once securities are on-chain, they can interact with other tokenized instruments and protocols, forming the building blocks for an open financial system. This interoperability is key to unlocking entirely new markets and products, allowing for creating and trading novel assets in ways that weren’t previously possible.
By bringing new assets on-chain, we can foster greater innovation, enabling these assets to be traded on exchanges and decentralized markets with enhanced transparency, efficiency, and accessibility.
How does this impact Fairmint? What are your plans?
Joris Delanoue: For Fairmint, this shift is exactly what we’ve been building toward. As a leader in compliant, scalable tokenization, we’re helping startups and private companies issue equity that is not only digital but interoperable with the broader financial ecosystem.
The emergence of standardized infrastructure, like the Open Cap Table format, allows us to take what we’ve already proven at scale and make it accessible to many more businesses. Our plan is simple: continue innovating where compliance and composability meet, so that tokenized equity becomes the default way companies raise, manage and trade ownership from incorporation to IPO.