Cantor Fitzgerald and Securitize introduced a partnership on July 15 to carry IPOs and follow-on choices by public corporations onto blockchain infrastructure, in an effort to develop tokenization from secondary market buying and selling to the first capital-raising means of conventional capital markets.
Cantor Turns to Securitize for On-chain IPOs
Cantor Fitzgerald is trying to forge a brand new path for conventional capital markets by partnering with Securitize to carry IPOs and follow-on choices of public corporations onto blockchain infrastructure. Of their July 15 announcement, the 2 events acknowledged that this mannequin will nonetheless function inside the framework of conventional capital markets, however will use tokenization to situation, distribute, and handle securities in a extra digital method.
Securitize and Cantor Fitzgerald are bringing IPOs and follow-on choices onchain.
Collectively, we’re making a regulated means for corporations to lift capital and conduct IPOs utilizing blockchain-based infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/lWmaXrvT7E
— Securitize (@Securitize) July 15, 2026
If efficiently applied for IPOs, it is going to contact the very core of fairness capital markets, the place the first capital-raising course of nonetheless depends closely on a number of layers of intermediaries and extremely guide post-trade verification processes. For Cantor, this can be a solution to transition its ECM and buying and selling capabilities onto a brand new infrastructure layer; for Securitize, it is a chance to push tokenization expertise deeper into public securities issuance.
How On-chain IPOs Would Work
In keeping with the announcement, Cantor might be in control of market construction and distribution, whereas Securitize will present the infrastructure for issuing, distributing, and servicing tokenized securities. On this mannequin, the blockchain doesn’t substitute the whole IPO course of however as an alternative serves because the infrastructure layer for recording, transferring, and managing possession rights.
Traders will nonetheless take part in an providing following the logic of conventional capital markets, however the securities might be represented as tokens on the blockchain. Securitize emphasised that the implementation stays inside an “established capital markets framework,” which means it should nonetheless adhere to present necessities concerning choices, custody, settlement, and transaction oversight.
The inclusion of Securitize Markets, LLC, an SEC-registered broker-dealer, on this construction demonstrates that the mannequin is designed to function inside the present regulatory system. The novelty lies in how the infrastructure is extra digitalized, not in bypassing securities laws.
Securitize’s Observe Report
Securitize was based in 2017 and has constructed a extremely distinct place within the tokenized belongings sector. In keeping with Securitize, the corporate now manages over $5 billion in belongings as of July 2026 and acknowledged that it has tokenized over $4 billion in belongings. Amongst its most distinguished merchandise is BlackRock’s BUIDL, a tokenized treasury fund that has been carefully watched by the market over the previous 12 months.
The corporate additionally lately went public underneath the ticker SECZ following a SPAC merger deal involving Cantor Fitzgerald, with a valuation of roughly $1.25 billion, in accordance with beforehand reported sources. Securitize shares rose following the partnership information with Cantor, displaying that buyers are viewing this settlement as a part of the corporate’s enlargement story, quite than only a media-focused announcement.
Why Wall Avenue Is Shifting Towards Tokenization
The Cantor-Securitize settlement comes at a time when Wall Avenue is ramping up broad-scale tokenization testing. The Wall Avenue Journal (WSJ) reported that the DTCC is launching a trial to tokenize shares and Treasury bonds with practically 40 taking part establishments, together with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Vanguard, and the NYSE. The participation of many main names signifies that tokenization is regularly shifting from an experimental matter to a course for upgrading monetary infrastructure.
Wall Avenue is focused on tokenization as a result of conventional issuance and buying and selling processes nonetheless move by means of many middleman layers, creating friction in possession registration, settlement, and distribution. Tokenization is predicted to scale back these frictions, enhance monitoring capabilities, and develop distribution attain whereas remaining inside present regulatory frameworks.
What to Watch Subsequent
This mannequin will solely be confirmed as soon as a primary issuer really makes use of it. The settlement at the moment solely opens up a path for on-chain IPOs and follow-on choices, whereas the precise impression will solely grow to be clear as soon as the primary transaction happens.
Operational particulars may also decide how far the mannequin can go, from voting rights, dividends, and switch restrictions to closing settlement.
One other level to observe is whether or not on-chain choices will begin with follow-on choices or go straight into main IPOs. If follow-on choices show efficient, it may function a stepping stone for bigger offers afterward.
