Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo said he believes tokenized stocks and ETFs, rather than private credit or treasury products, will ultimately be the asset class that drives the real asset (RWA) market into the trillions.
Speaking on a panel at ETHConf in New York on Tuesday, Domingo argued that bringing stocks and exchange-traded funds on-chain could unlock a much larger market than the current roughly $30 billion tokenized asset sector.
“The total global stock and ETF market is probably around $150 trillion,” Domingo said. “Only if a small portion of it, say 2% or 3%, moves on-chain can we get much closer to $5 trillion.”
The comments come as Securitize prepares to go public and aims to expand its role as one of the largest tokenization providers for institutions including BlackRock.
While tokenized U.S. Treasuries have emerged as a major category in RWA over the past two years, Domingo argued that tokenized equities could become the industry’s next major growth engine. Securitize announced a partnership with the New York Stock Exchange and transfer agent Computershare to enable on-chain trading and settlement of stocks.
Domingo also distinguished between what he considers “real” tokenized equities and the growing number of blockchain-based equity products offered outside the United States.
“Many of the people today who say they are tokenizing stocks are not tokenizing stocks,” he said, arguing that many product offerings rely on derivatives and synthetic structures rather than direct ownership of the underlying stocks.
Domingo said the long-term goal is for blockchain-based securities to offer the same investor rights as traditional stocks, while benefiting from instant settlement, 24/7 transferability, and deeper integration with decentralized finance.
Domingo argued that public blockchains, especially Ethereum, remain the preferred infrastructure for institutional tokenization, despite concerns about transparency and compliance. Securitize uses smart contracts to limit ownership to approved investors while allowing assets to be moved over permissionless networks.
Looking ahead, Domingo said he expects blockchain-based markets to develop in parallel with existing financial infrastructure and then gradually absorb a larger share of activity.
“Traditional markets are here to stay,” he said. “New markets will emerge in parallel that will run on blockchain rails and be more efficient.”
Read more: BlackRock-backed tokenization company Securitize clears key hurdle to NYSE listing
