Goldman, Citizens See Upside for Coinbase, Robinhood, Circle in Tokenized Stocks

As noted by CoinDesk, analysts at Goldman Sachs and Citizens argue that a regulated channel for tokenized U.S. stocks emerges from the five-year innovation exemption granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. They point to Coinbase, Robinhood, and Circle as major entities likely to see advantages. This structure allows automated market makers to facilitate transactions on public blockchains, as long as tokens preserve core shareholder benefits like voting and dividends.

To protect current market issuers and participants, the exemption sets specific structural boundaries. There are caps on the number of listed equities and trading volume for venues. Additionally, issuers retain the power to block third-party creation of tokenized forms of their own shares.

Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO, stated earlier this week that voting functions for the firm’s tokenized-equity product are coming soon. Analysts at Goldman Sachs noted that the company’s existing tokenized-equity offering already includes shareholder rights and dividends mirroring the underlying stock. Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood, indicated this week that the firm intends to add voting rights and share redemptions to its stock tokens.

Traditional exchanges see reduced risk because of these issuer veto powers and trading limits. The reports suggest that Circle is well-placed to gain from rising USDC demand for collateral and settlement roles as onchain activity grows.