Securitize Wins First FINRA Approval for Tokenized IPO Underwriting

Securitize has become the first firm to win FINRA approval to underwrite tokenized IPOs and secondary offerings while also custodying tokenized securities through its Securitize Markets broker-dealer subsidiary. CEO Carlos Domingo framed the dual approval as a "foundational unlock" — letting the firm run atomic settlement between securities and stablecoins inside its own ATS, instead of routing through fragmented intermediaries.

President Brett Redfearn added that the underwriting and selling-group clearances let Securitize sit alongside traditional investment banks during the IPO process, but for blockchain-native securities. The custody piece arrived through FINRA's Continuing Membership Application process, the same regulatory channel that introduces new business lines at incumbent broker-dealers.

Why it matters

Tokenization has moved from pilot to plumbing. With FINRA approval, Securitize can now issue shares recorded directly on an issuer's cap table — carrying full shareholder rights, dividends and proxy voting — and settle them against stablecoins in a single transaction. That collapses the multi-account, multi-custodian workflow that has defined both legacy capital markets and the first wave of synthetic onchain equities. Securitize is also helping the New York Stock Exchange build its planned 24/7 tokenized securities platform and partnered last week with Computershare, the world's largest transfer agent, to let public companies issue tokenized shares alongside traditional ones.

Market impact

Analysts routinely project tokenized assets scaling into the trillions over the next decade, and incumbents from the NYSE down are now treating that pipeline as real infrastructure rather than a sandbox. Securitize is heading to Nasdaq under the CEPT ticker via a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners II, expected to close in the first half of 2026 — meaning the firm will arrive as a public company with a regulatory perimeter most tokenization rivals cannot yet replicate. Watch SEC rulemaking on tokenized securities settlement and any competing broker-dealer CMA filings as the next dominoes.