Formation Securities to launch SEC-approved Solana-based tokenized stock marketplace
Round-the-clock trading of blockchain-based shares from companies including Galaxy Digital, Exodus and Forward Industries is set to debut in early 2027 on the new platform.
A new entity called Formation Securities, which has obtained licensing rights to technology developed by decentralized exchange platform Orca, has formally informed the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about its intentions to establish a marketplace for tokenized equity trading on the Solana blockchain, targeting an early 2027 debut.
In an announcement released Monday, the firm revealed that blockchain-based shares representing Galaxy Digital, Exodus Movement and Forward Industries are anticipated to be among the initial offerings when operations commence. The platform is designed to function within the framework of the SEC's temporary Innovation Exemption that was unveiled in September, a regulatory provision that permits accredited investors to execute trades of select publicly listed US equities continuously, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, while maintaining access to voting privileges, dividend distributions and additional shareholder entitlements.
Financial services firms Superstate and Securitize are anticipated to provide tokenized equity instruments on the trading platform, which Formation indicates it plans to build through collaborative partnerships with publicly traded corporations. The marketplace will leverage automated market maker (AMM) infrastructure, enabling investors to maintain custody of securities within their personal wallets and execute trade settlements directly on the blockchain using stablecoins and other approved digital assets.
Conventional transfer agents would remain responsible for maintaining the official registries of shareholders, ensuring that companies can preserve their direct connections and relationships with their equity holders.
The Solana network currently ranks as one of the leading blockchain platforms for tokenized equity instruments, hosting roughly $575 million in tokenized stock value as of Monday, when compared against $747 million on the Ethereum network and $1.7 billion on BNB Chain, based on data compiled by RWA.xyz.
Tokenized stock plans draw issuer concerns
The issuer-centric strategy being pursued by Formation emerges against a backdrop of escalating discussions regarding the appropriate methods for migrating publicly traded equity shares onto blockchain networks. By early November, a total exceeding 50 corporations had formally raised objections to plans for tokenizing their shares on OKXICE, a competing marketplace initiative supported by cryptocurrency exchange platform OKX alongside Intercontinental Exchange, the corporate entity that owns the New York Stock Exchange.
According to the requirements outlined in the SEC's Innovation Exemption framework, trading platforms are obligated to provide written notification to issuing companies and observe a minimum waiting period of at least 30 calendar days prior to commencing trading activities for shares that have been tokenized by unrelated third-party entities, thereby affording corporations a window of opportunity to register formal objections. In September, Nasdaq issued a cautionary statement suggesting that the tokenization and trading of stock shares on blockchain platforms could generate unanticipated ramifications affecting market liquidity, the mechanisms of price discovery and the preservation of long-term shareholder value.