- eToro is launching tokenized U.S. equities on Ethereum using ERC-20 tokens.
- The goal? 24/7 stock trading and integration with DeFi apps.
- The move follows recent regulatory clarity and mimics moves by Robinhood, Kraken, and others.
In a move that blends traditional finance with the ever-evolving world of crypto, eToro just revealed it’s gearing up to tokenize U.S.-listed stocks on the Ethereum blockchain. Yep, regular ol’ equities—on-chain, ERC-20 style. The announcement, dropped Tuesday, puts the trading platform right alongside other heavy-hitters pushing tokenized markets into the spotlight.
Here’s the gist: the new ERC-20 tokens will be backed by actual shares held by eToro. So if you buy the token, you basically own a slice of the real thing. Want to go back to traditional finance? Cool—you can redeem those tokens into standard shares. The big win here? You’d be able to trade stocks 24/7 and plug into DeFi apps without jumping through centralized hoops.
Stocks, But Make It DeFi
eToro’s CEO Yoni Assia didn’t hold back. “We want to tokenize every asset on eToro,” he said—bold goal, right? Stocks are the first step. The vision is to give users full freedom to move their tokenized assets onto the blockchain and connect with DeFi tools like lending, staking, or whatever comes next.
Assia also pointed to a changing regulatory climate that’s making this stuff more doable. New frameworks like MiCA in the EU and the Genius Act in the U.S. are setting clearer guidelines around stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). Basically, the rules are catching up, and eToro’s jumping at the chance to move first.
Everyone’s Getting in on It
If this all sounds familiar—it should. Robinhood recently rolled out stock tokens for its European users, and big names like Kraken, Gemini, and Bybit are already in the game too. Tokenized equities are heating up, and the race to bring stocks on-chain is officially on.
For eToro, this isn’t exactly new territory. They’ve played in the tokenization sandbox before—buying Danish firm Firmo back in 2019 and launching tokenized metals like gold and silver. This time, though, the stakes are higher. Tokenizing U.S. equities is a way bigger leap, and it could shake up both crypto and traditional trading markets.
