Is the "tokenization" of stocks #Gate广场创作者计划# just a rebranding or does it really intend to shake up the financial world?

On September 3rd, Ondo Finance officially launched a tokenization stock platform called "Ondo Global Markets," introducing over a hundred token stocks in one go, and plans to expand to a thousand by the end of the year. Stocks on the blockchain, they're really going big this time.
The old rules of Wall Street have been in place for over a hundred years, and at this time, ondo stands up to show the world that they can achieve "faster, more transparent, and more global" through blockchain technology.
Currently, the total market value of all tokenized stocks is less than 400 million dollars, while the stock of Nvidia alone is worth 4 trillion dollars... The huge gap illustrates two things: this market is still in a very early stage, but it also means that if the direction is right, the potential is unimaginable.
🗞️ Why does Ondo need to promote "stock tokenization"?
First, it aims to solve a long-standing problem that has plagued traditional markets: slow settlement. When we buy stocks now, they are not immediately available; we have to wait a day or two (this is called T+2). Money is frozen, the process is cumbersome, and there may be hiccups in between. However, after tokenization, using the blockchain's "atomic settlement," the transfer of equity and money can be completed instantly. It's not just fast; it also releases a large amount of funds stuck in the process.
Moreover, cross-border investment will become much simpler. Previously, buying foreign stocks required going through a bunch of intermediaries: custodians, brokers, clearing institutions... Each link charged fees and took time. But now, by directly writing compliance checks (such as KYC and anti-money laundering) into the Token protocol, the assets themselves carry "compliance attributes." At this point, there is no need to repeatedly prove who you are; the system automatically verifies.
Most importantly, it is becoming that bridge between the traditional financial world and the Crypto world. Tokenized stocks allow traditional finance to start experiencing "on-chain efficiency" with assets they are familiar with, such as Apple and Tesla stocks.
🧩 Currently, there are three mainstream modes for this gameplay:
The first method is to rely on third-party custody. For example, Backed Finance will establish a special entity (SPV) to hold the actual stocks, then find a custody institution for auditing, and finally issue tokens on the exchange. What you buy is the corresponding economic rights, but you are not a shareholder in the legal sense.
The second option is for licensed institutions to do it themselves. Players like Robinhood, Ondo, or Dinari, who have securities licenses, issue, custody, and clear themselves. This path is the most compliant, with the strongest legal protection, but the barriers to entry are also very high.
The third type of risk is the greatest: synthetic assets. For example, what Mirror Protocol did in the past was not to issue real stock-backed tokens, but rather a type of derivative that tracks stock price fluctuations. There are no shareholder rights; it is purely a gamble on price movements - such projects can easily become unanchored and are the hardest to regulate.
The boundaries in reality are not so clear-cut. Many licensed institutions also connect to third-party liquidity, while unlicensed ones are desperately applying for licenses. In this way, everyone understands: without compliance, you won't get far.
🃏 Ondo's ace: licensing is the moat.
On the road to compliance, Ondo is clearly ahead. Unlike some projects that choose lenient regulatory regions, they directly confront the strictest securities regulations in the United States—currently, they hold three key licenses:
The first is the Transfer Agent, responsible for recording who holds the stocks, which is the cornerstone of equity mapping;
Second, a broker-dealer license is required; without it, legal fiat-token exchanges cannot be completed.
The hardest to obtain is the Alternative Trading System (ATS) license, which allows direct peer-to-peer trading of tokens between users—without this, secondary market liquidity cannot be established.
With three cards combined, Ondo can legally complete the entire process of "issuance-trading-settlement" in the United States. This is not only a technological advantage but also a wide and deep moat.
💬 So... is it a revolution or old wine in new bottles?
Stock tokenization refers to a deeper change: it may redefine the concept of "global markets"—24-hour trading, instant settlement, and borderless circulation. Once realized, we will enter an era of extremely efficient capital flow.
Can it succeed? No one can guarantee that. The collision between tradition and innovation is not only a technical issue but also involves laws, customs, and trust. Ondo's entry this time feels like a bold experiment. Whether it can truly attract traditional funds and a large number of new users will depend on how it is implemented and operated in the future. Perhaps we are witnessing the beginning of the next financial revolution.