Crypto Currents: Nasdaq leads push in tokenization of stocks via SEC filing

The lines between digital assets and traditional finance are blurring at an unprecedented pace as major Wall Street players seek to build the infrastructure for an on-chain future. Nasdaq is pursuing regulatory approval to trade tokenized stocks, while asset management giant Fidelity has quietly launched its own tokenized treasury fund. This integration is fueled by a torrent of institutional capital, with new ventures raising billions to build crypto treasuries and more crypto-native firms like CoinShares planning U.S. public listings. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with “Crypto Currents,” daily from The Fly. Join us 2 PM daily for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio. Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel for the Crypto Fly By weekly recap.

NASDAQ AND FIDELITY LEAD TOKENIZATION PUSH: According to a post made to LinkedIn, president of major U.S. exchange Nasdaq (NDAQ) announced having formally asked the SEC for permission to put stocks on the blockchain. If approved, the exchange would allow customers to trade tokenized stocks with the same priority as traditional equities. The move by the TradFi behemoth is seen as particularly significant in the race to tokenize real-world assets. Meanwhile, according to crypto.news, Fidelity Investments has entered the $7.4B tokenized treasuries market, quietly launching the FDIT, a tokenized share class of its treasury fund on the Ethereum network. The fund already holds over $200M in assets. Fidelity joins a competitive field dominated by BlackRock’s BUIDL, which manages over $2.2B.

INSTITUTIONAL CAPITAL POURS INTO NEW VENTURES: Underscoring strong institutional belief in the sector, Forward Industries (FORD), announced a $1.65B private investment to create a solana-centered (SOL-USD) digital asset treasury, according to a press release. The deal was led by prominent crypto investment firms Galaxy Digital (GLXY), Jump Crypto, and Multicoin Capital. The firms will provide both capital and strategic support to Forward Industries. In Hong Kong, regulated crypto exchange HashKey has unveiled plans for a $500M fund to invest in digital asset treasury companies, in an announcement on Monday. Similarly, South Africa’s Altvest Capital plans to raise $210M to buy bitcoin for its treasury reserve, according to a report from Bloomberg.

COINSHARES TO LIST IN U.S. VIA SPAC: Cryptocurrency asset manager CoinShares International Ltd. has agreed to go public in the U.S. through a merger with a SPAC, Vine Hill Capital Investment Corp. (VCIC), according to another report from Bloomberg. The deal gives CoinShares a pre-money valuation of $1.2B. The company, which has about $10B in assets under management, is currently traded on Nasdaq Stockholm but will delist after the merger is complete. CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti said in the statement that a U.S. listing will expand the company’s reach into the world’s largest asset management market.

STABLECOINS POSE THREAT TO REGIONAL BANKS: The rapid growth of stablecoins is causing concern for local and regional bankers, who see the digital currencies as a new competitor for critical customer deposits. This mirrors the rise of money-market funds in the 1970s, which drew trillions of dollars out of traditional savings accounts. According to Bloomberg, the supply of top dollar-pegged stablecoins has surged to nearly $250B, with Standard Chartered estimating the market could reach $2T within three years. As stablecoins proliferate, some bankers worry that deposit flight could reduce access to credit for farms and small businesses, particularly in rural America.

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was trading at $112,796.33, while ethereum (ETH-USD) was trading at $4,368.28. and solana (SOL-USD) was at $215.05, according to price data from CoinDesk.