Explosion of tokenized US stocks: Bybit, Robinhood, and Kraken launch simultaneously, is this the birth of the biggest narrative of this cycle?

Bybit, Robinhood, and Kraken are all entering the market for tokenizing US stocks. Could this become the biggest narrative of this cycle? (Background: Robinhood may also enter the L2 space, and new players are emerging in the tokenization of US stocks) (Additional context: The narrative of tokenizing US stocks is lively, yet the market is quite cold. Can traditional finance on-chain become a new engine for a bull market?) After Trump took office, cryptocurrency regulation in the United States was comprehensively relaxed, and the tokenization of US stocks became a super hot topic, with almost all major exchanges participating. 'Using US Treasuries to collateralize dollar stablecoins to trade US stocks, making America great again—Trump must love this idea!' On June 30, 2025, Bybit and Kraken launched the xStocks product provided by the Swiss compliant asset tokenization platform Backed Finance. The related tokens are backed 1:1 by real stocks, held by a regulated custodian, and deployed on the Solana blockchain, enabling 7×24 hours of continuous trading and on-chain settlement. Due to compliance restrictions, this service is currently only available to non-US users. On the same day, Robinhood announced the launch of stock token trading services based on the Arbitrum network in Europe, with plans to gradually expand the suite to 7×24 hours of trading and tokenize some equity of unlisted companies, including OpenAI and SpaceX. This service is currently not available to US users. Classification and comparison of mainstream crypto trading platform US stock trading solutions: 1. Third-party issuance + multi-exchange access model (Representative platforms: Bybit, Kraken, Gemini) Tokens issued by regulated issuers (such as Backed Finance) are 1:1 pegged to real stocks and deployed on public blockchains (like Solana). Crypto exchanges act as access platforms providing matching services, supporting on-chain transfers and DeFi applications, allowing users to trade 24/7 and enjoy corresponding economic rights (like dividends). The compliance responsibility of this model is mainly borne by the issuer, and exchanges generally do not hold securities licenses, with service scope usually excluding US users. 2. Licensed broker self-built chain + self-operated issuance model (Representative platform: Robinhood) Licensed brokers directly issue stock tokens and custody the underlying assets, achieving full-process on-chain integration of issuance, clearing, and settlement. Robinhood currently provides this service based on Arbitrum and plans to launch its own Layer 2 blockchain, Robinhood Chain, supporting user self-custody and 7×24 hours of trading. Token holders can obtain economic rights (like dividends) from actual stocks. This model has high compliance, suitable for strictly regulated markets, but has higher technical and compliance thresholds, with limited landing platforms. 3. Contract for difference (CFD) model (Representative platform: Bybit) Provides trading of US stock price CFDs through systems like MT5, allowing users to perform long and short leveraged operations using USDT margin, without needing to hold actual stocks. This model is convenient for trading, suitable for short-term speculation, but users do not enjoy any shareholder rights or dividends. CFDs are financial derivatives, strictly regulated in European and American markets, and most platforms only open to specific offshore market users without holding a license, with potential restrictions for European users. Additionally, Coinbase is seeking approval from the U.S. SEC to launch tokenized stock trading services under a compliant framework. This plan intends to issue digital tokens representing stock ownership via blockchain, supporting on-chain settlement and matching. Currently, Coinbase has submitted a pilot application to the SEC, and if it receives a No-Action Letter or exemption, it will become one of the first compliant platforms to launch tokenized US stock services in the United States. Review of the last cycle's tokenized US stock experiments: FTX, Binance, and decentralized protocol attempts and failures. 1. FTX (in cooperation with CM-Equity): The crypto derivatives giant FTX was one of the early explorers of tokenized US stocks. In October 2020, FTX teamed up with the licensed German financial institution CM-Equity AG and the Swiss digital asset company Digital Assets AG to launch US stock token trading services. FTX allowed non-US users to trade tokens of a range of US-listed company stocks, including popular stocks like Facebook, Netflix, Tesla, and Amazon. These tokens were backed by actual stocks held by partners and supported fragmented trading, allowing users to purchase stock tokens for as low as a few dollars, significantly lowering the investment threshold. FTX made significant progress: in the fourth quarter of 2021, its tokenized stock trading volume peaked, with a monthly transaction value of about $940 million in October. However, limited by the unfriendly regulatory environment at the time (regulatory bodies in various countries were cautious about this innovative product), FTX's US stock token business never gained mainstream regulatory approval. In 2022, FTX faced a crisis due to its own risks and fund misappropriation issues, leading to bankruptcy liquidation in November, and its tokenized stock service came to an abrupt end. FTX's attempt exposed compliance trust issues: once the issuing platform encounters a credit crisis, the tokenized assets held by investors may become irredeemable. Additionally, due to the lack of clear regulatory guidance, FTX's related business faced scrutiny and restrictions in many places (for example, Germany's BaFin warned FTX that such products might violate regulations). The FTX case indicates that without a solid compliance framework, exchanges' unilateral promotion of securities tokenization is difficult to sustain. 2. Binance (stock tokens): The world's largest crypto exchange, Binance, quickly followed suit, launching US stock token trading services in April 2021, with Tesla (TSLA) as the first listed stock. Binance also collaborated with CM-Equity and Digital Assets AG to issue tokens, allowing users to purchase fractional US stock shares using crypto assets. At that time, Binance's move aimed to compete with FTX, Bittrex Global, and others, providing stock trading channels for its massive user base. However, this business only lasted about three months. Due to quick responses from regulatory bodies (for example, the UK's FCA and Germany's BaFin questioned its compliance), Binance was forced to proactively delist all stock tokens in July 2021 and sought a more compliant product direction. Reports indicated that Binance had not obtained the necessary license to issue securities tokens at that time, facing significant legal risks and had to hastily terminate the service. Binance's experience highlights the significant impact of regulatory pressure on centralized platforms' attempts at securities tokenization: top crypto companies that do not resolve compliance issues beforehand will quickly face regulatory pushback when launching such products, making it impossible to sustain operations. 3. Terra's Mirror Protocol (synthetic assets): Unlike the centralized exchange path, the Terra blockchain ecosystem launched the Mirror Protocol at the end of 2020, taking a completely decentralized route for synthetic assets. Mirror allows users to mint assets pegged to US stock prices...