Fusion of a New Era: How Gate Stock Tokens Are Reshaping the Investment Landscape of TradFi and DeFi

“The total market capitalization of tokenized stocks has surpassed $500 million, growing over 50 times this year.” According to a recent report released by Gate Research Institute, this emerging market is expanding at an astonishing rate.

Despite rapid growth, the penetration rate of tokenized stocks in global stock markets and ETFs is only about 0.0004% and 0.003%, respectively. The huge growth potential indicates that tokenized stocks are becoming the next key RWA (Real World Asset) track after stablecoins and government bonds.

01 Market Explosion: The Growth Miracle and Market Bottlenecks of Stock Tokens

2025 marks a turning point for the stock token market. Data from Gate Research Institute reveals a striking reality: the market cap of tokenized stocks (including ETFs) has increased more than 50 times within the year, with a total scale exceeding $500 million.

This explosive growth is driven by multiple factors. Global investors’ demand for 24/7 trading is increasing, while traditional financial markets cannot meet this demand. Meanwhile, blockchain technology has brought unprecedented transparency and settlement efficiency to stock trading.

However, the market still faces obvious bottlenecks. Liquidity fragmentation is particularly prominent, as tokenized stocks across different platforms cannot circulate freely, forming isolated liquidity pools. Additionally, fragmented compliance frameworks also hinder further market development.

02 Bridge Value: The Path to Fusion of TradFi and DeFi

The essence of tokenized stocks is to serve as a bridge between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). This fusion creates two-way value flow: traditional assets gain on-chain liquidity, while the DeFi ecosystem introduces high-quality yield assets.

From the demand side, 80% of DeFi platforms believe that tokenized money market funds (MMFs) can improve their fund management. This demand has led to the creation of on-chain versions of traditional financial products, combining the security, liquidity, and yield of traditional products with blockchain-native advantages such as on-chain settlement and integration with digital wallets.

A global survey conducted by Calastone predicts that the assets under management (AUM) of tokenized funds will grow from $4 billion in 2024 to $235 billion in 2029, achieving a 58-fold increase.

03 Multiple Paths: Competition of Solutions for Tokenized Stocks

Currently, the tokenized stock track presents a multi-route competition pattern of “homogeneous assets, heterogeneous implementations.” Gate Research Institute’s report focuses on four representative models, demonstrating different implementation paths.

Comparison of Major Tokenized Stock Solutions

Gate’s xStocks stock section adopts the compliant entity asset tokenization model. All listed tokens correspond to publicly traded stocks, fully collateralized, supporting free transfer and on-chain trading. This section has already supported tokenized trading of 8 popular stock brands including COINX, NVDAX, TSLAX, and others.

04 Regulatory Evolution: Gradual Clarification of the Regulatory Framework

In January 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an important statement on tokenized securities, providing urgently needed regulatory guidance. The statement clearly defines tokenized securities: securities that meet the federal securities law definition but exist in the form of crypto assets, with ownership records stored wholly or partly on one or more blockchain networks.

The SEC’s statement distinguishes two main structures: issuer-supported tokenized securities and third-party-supported tokenized securities. In the former, holders have direct rights against the issuer; in the latter, rights may depend on custody models or synthetic models arranged by third parties.

The key regulatory stance is: tokenization changes the “pipeline,” not the regulatory boundaries. This means that regardless of the technological form in which assets exist, the core requirements of securities law—registration disclosures, anti-fraud measures, investor protection—still apply.

Global regulatory landscapes are also evolving. The EU’s MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) is establishing a unified regulatory framework for the European market, while U.S. policymakers are increasingly recognizing that overly complex or vague rules will push activities and talent overseas.

05 Industry Practice: Gate’s Exploration and Ecosystem Building

As an industry pioneer, Gate has launched the xStocks stock trading section, supporting both spot and derivatives markets. This innovation allows global users to invest in stocks without traditional brokerage accounts, with no KYC restrictions, and supports 24/7 trading.

Gate’s ecosystem is expanding toward comprehensive Web3 infrastructure. In January 2026, Gate will fully upgrade its Web3 suite to “Gate DEX,” integrating decentralized exchanges, perpetual contracts, and launchpad services.

Meanwhile, GateToken (GT) has become the exclusive fuel token of its underlying Gate Layer network. This strategic move deeply binds the platform’s native token with ecosystem development. Recently, Gate Wallet launched the “Refuel Station” feature, allowing users to use GT and other assets to automatically pay for transaction fees across more than 10 EVM networks, further enhancing GT’s utility and demand.

06 Future Outlook: Asset Expansion and Institutional Participation

Gate Research Institute believes that the future development of tokenized stocks will be driven mainly by three trends: expanding asset classes to ETFs, Pre-IPO, perpetual contracts, etc.; promoting regional implementation; and potential deep involvement of traditional financial giants.

In terms of asset expansion, the New York Stock Exchange plans to launch a blockchain-based platform supporting 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs after obtaining regulatory approval later in 2026. This indicates that traditional financial infrastructure providers are actively embracing this transformation.

Participation of traditional financial institutions is also accelerating. UBS CEO stated that blockchain will play a “significant role” in reshaping traditional finance. Institutions like Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan have already begun exploring digital asset platforms and tokenized products.

As technology, compliance, and liquidity improve, a 24/7, global, on-chain stock market prototype is accelerating into shape. This market will not only change how individual investors participate but also redefine asset allocation strategies for institutional investors.

Future Outlook

When a young developer at Gate logs in at 3 a.m. to buy tokenized Nvidia stocks with USDT, he is also participating in a financial revolution.

This revolution is dissolving the barriers between TradFi and DeFi, with tokenized stocks serving as the strongest bridge pillars. Gate Research Institute predicts that by 2029, the assets under management of tokenized funds will reach $235 billion.

This is no longer just an occasional intersection of two parallel worlds but the drawing of a new continent within the same financial universe. The stability of traditional markets and the efficiency of on-chain worlds are being redefined through the innovative vehicle of stock tokens, reshaping the rules and boundaries of global capital markets.