Tokenized Equities (Stock Tokens)

Stocks as Tokens

A tokenized equity is a blockchain token meant to track the price of a company's stock — Apple, Tesla, Nvidia — so you can gain exposure to equities on-chain, 24/7, in small fractions, without a traditional brokerage account. Providers such as Backed (xStocks), and brokerages like Robinhood (in Europe) and Kraken, have offered versions of these. The appeal is access: someone anywhere with a wallet can hold something that moves with a US stock, trade it any time, and use it in an on-chain context — bypassing the geographic and hours limits of traditional markets.

Backed vs Synthetic

There are two very different ways to build a stock token. **Fully-backed**: a custodian holds one real share for each token, so the token is a claim on an actual share held in the traditional system. **Synthetic**: the token tracks the price via derivatives or collateral without a real share behind each one. The distinction is fundamental — a fully-backed token's value rests on the custodian actually holding the shares and honouring redemptions; a synthetic token's value rests on the collateral and the mechanism that keeps it pegged to the stock price. Knowing which you hold tells you where the risk lives.

• A tokenized equity is a token that tracks a stock's price, tradeable on-chain 24/7
• Fully-backed = a custodian holds a real share per token
• Synthetic = price tracked via derivatives/collateral, no real share per token
• Providers include Backed (xStocks), Robinhood (EU), Kraken