Ethereum to host tokenized shares from eToro!
In a groundbreaking move, eToro has announced the launch of 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks via its xStocks platform. This initiative marks a broader trend towards integrating traditional assets into the blockchain, paving the way for a more open and inclusive digital economy.
eToro, an online broker, plans to launch tokenized stocks of American listed companies on the Ethereum blockchain. The company aims to tokenize 100 of the most popular US stocks and ETFs as ERC-20 tokens, enabling users to trade these assets 24 hours a day, five days a week, beyond traditional stock market hours.
This tokenization allows users not only to trade tokenized stocks on eToro’s platform but also to withdraw tokens into their own Ethereum wallets, giving them self-custody and the ability to interact directly with DeFi applications such as staking, lending, or using the tokens as collateral.
The launch of eToro’s tokenized US stocks on Ethereum could significantly impact and advance the DeFi ecosystem. By bridging traditional finance and decentralized finance, it increases the accessibility, transparency, and usability of real-world assets within DeFi protocols. This interoperability with DeFi protocols is a crucial innovation that enhances liquidity and capital efficiency, while also democratizing access to stock investments.
Ethereum’s established infrastructure, liquidity, and large developer community make it a strategic choice for tokenizing these assets. By using ERC-20 tokens, eToro aligns tokenized stocks with the broader Ethereum DeFi ecosystem, allowing these assets to be used flexibly—such as in yield-generating protocols, lending platforms, or as collateral—thus amplifying DeFi’s growth and diversification.
Yoni Assia, co-founder and CEO of eToro, highlights the transformative potential of tokenization for the DeFi ecosystem. Assia emphasizes the advantages of tokenization in terms of democratization of financial markets, 24/7 accessibility, increased transparency, and user control.
eToro’s initiative is part of a strategy to offer users diversified access to financial assets through blockchain technology. The company is collaborating with CME Group to facilitate real-time pricing and longer-term expiries.
Other players in the industry, such as Coinbase and Robinhood, have also announced similar ambitions in the area of stock tokenization. The stake of eToro’s initiative lies in its potential to transform traditional stock markets by removing time and geographical trading limitations, enhancing transparency, enabling fractional ownership, and fostering an inclusive financial system through blockchain technology.
Regulatory challenges persist, but Assia points to recent advances such as the EU's MiCA framework and the GENIUS Act in the US as facilitating the adoption of these innovations.
Charles Ledoux, a Bitcoin and blockchain technology specialist, shares his passion for crypto through his articles on the platform. Ledoux, a graduate of the Crypto Academy and an author of numerous masterclasses and over 2000 articles, underscores the transformative potential of decentralized finance.
This development marks a significant step toward the real adoption of real-world asset tokenization in DeFi and could help grow what is currently a small tokenized stocks market into a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity within decentralized finance.
The crypto academy graduate, Charles Ledoux, appreciates the potential of eToro's initiative to expand the tokenized stocks market within DeFi, thereby possibly growing it into a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity. This move could bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance, making real-world assets more accessible, transparent, and usable within DeFi protocols through technology like Ethereum and investing platforms like eToro.
