According to Grayscale's research note published Thursday, Robinhood Chain, BNB Chain, and Solana handled most tokenized stock trading last week, with weekly spot volume peaking near $3 billion in early August. As reported by Grayscale, these three blockchain networks have emerged as the dominant platforms for tokenized equity trading, demonstrating significant market adoption of this innovative financial instrument. The substantial trading volumes indicate that tokenized stocks are finding genuine buyers in the market.
Despite the robust trading volumes, only about 5% of the tokenized equity market is being utilized in on-chain finance activities, according to Grayscale research head Zach Pandl. As reported by Grayscale, the primary driver for investors remains round-the-clock trading and access from anywhere, rather than on-chain utility. Value locked in tokenized stocks passed $110 million in late August, as cited by Grayscale using on-chain data from Allium, though this remains significantly below the billions changing hands weekly through trading.
The tokenized equity sector is beginning to develop on-chain financial services, with holdings inside Kamino and Jupiter, two Solana lending protocols, growing roughly tenfold over the past year. According to Grayscale's data, this growth in lending protocols suggests that tokenized stocks are increasingly being used for more than just trading, though the majority of trading activity remains concentrated on the primary trading platforms.
US regulators are actively discussing an innovation exemption that would allow tokenized securities to trade under safeguards such as verified participants and compliance-ready token standards. As reported by Grayscale, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials have separately argued that tokenization makes shares easier to pledge as collateral, while an SEC advisory committee has backed settling stock and payment in a single transaction. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has also pressed similar arguments about the US tokenized stock gap, though the wider tokenized asset ownership problem still leaves holders with exposure rather than actual shares.
On Friday, the named chains showed mixed price action, with Solana (SOL) trading near $101.76, down 3.2% on the day, while BNB held around $718.84. According to Grayscale's analysis, volume alone will not turn tokenized stocks into collateral, with rulemaking being the key determinant for the sector's future development. The regulatory framework remains incomplete, with US regulators not yet finishing the necessary rulemaking that would enable tokenized stocks to serve as institutional collateral.
