Cantor Fitzgerald Partners With Securitize to Help Companies Issue Blockchain-Native Shares in IPOs

Cantor Fitzgerald announced a partnership with Securitize on Wednesday to help companies issue stock on the blockchain when they go public. Securitize, a New York firm, creates blockchain-native shares that closely resemble traditional securities from a regulatory perspective. This model allows companies to participate directly and retain control over the tokenized shares they issue.

The approach contrasts with the wrapper model used by Robinhood and Kraken. That model involves purchasing blocks of stock to hold in a special purpose vehicle and issuing synthetic tokens without company involvement. Fortune reported that the vast majority of tokenized share trading has occurred under the wrapper model, with investors in Brazil and South Africa using it for exposure to U.S.

Stocks such as Tesla and Apple. Only a small number of companies, including Galaxy, Figure, and Securitize itself, have issued shares natively on the blockchain. Ben Boehmke, Head of Strategies for Equities at Cantor Fitzgerald, said the firm chose Securitize in part because of its compliance-first approach.

He anticipates that more firms turning to Cantor to go public will be led by crypto-native founders willing to issue shares on the blockchain.

““We also see a thriving market where clients and issuers may be very interested in dipping a toe in the water and doing 5% to 10% of their offering in tokenized form.” — Ben Boehmke, Head of Strategies for Equities at Cantor Fitzgerald Boehmke added that digitally native hedge funds could offer a sleeve of an IPO in tokenized form. Cantor Fitzgerald serves as custodian for Tether reserves and operates funds offering Bitcoin and tokenized gold. The firm plans to facilitate blockchain-native offerings including tender offers. Billy Miller, COO of Securitize, said the blockchain-native model offers companies and investors a safer and more reliable way to manage blockchain-based stocks than wrapped tokens held in an SPV. He stated that the model will gain momentum once a full regulatory regime is in place and noted that executives at firms like Apple are aware of synthetic versions of their stock trading with little oversight.”