Securitize, a company focused on bringing traditional financial products onto blockchain networks, published a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal to defend stock tokenization against growing criticism from opponents of the practice.
The ad emphasizes that tokenized shares should be backed one-to-one by real shares, include voting and dividend rights, and be traded only through venues regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that restrict transfers to identified investors.
Securitize's campaign highlights potential benefits of properly executed tokenization, including access to new investor pools, extended trading hours, increased liquidity, and more direct shareholder engagement.
The advertisement responds to an anti-tokenization campaign that ran in the same newspaper on October 24, funded by the Common Sense Leadership Fund, a nonprofit civic organization. That earlier ad urged corporate leaders to reject tokenization of their shares, citing potential liability concerns.
Corporate Response
Despite Securitize's defense of regulated tokenization, significant corporate resistance has emerged. Of 63 companies targeted for listing on OKXICE—a tokenized securities venue developed through a joint venture between cryptocurrency exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange—38 have opted out of participation.
Companies that declined to participate include Microsoft, Alphabet, Intel, Oracle, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, McDonald's, Walmart, and Eli Lilly.
Securitize's CEO characterized concerns raised by tokenization opponents as misleading, noting they do not apply to tokenization conducted under SEC regulations and traded on regulated venues.
