Wintermute urges the SEC not to classify key network tokens as securities
Wintermute’s submission to the SEC requests regulatory clarity for crypto brokers and dealers, covering account-based trading of tokenized securities, wallet and key management for self-custody, and on-chain settlement options with stablecoins and other assets.
The company has also called for DeFi inclusion of tokenized securities, from trading and liquidity pooling to direct lending, and asked that these activities should not be subject to broker-dealer rules or U.S. regulatory reach.
Additionally, the company encouraged the SEC to formally state that core network tokens: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and similar assets, should not be classified as securities, since they are central to decentralized systems, despite how they were originally issued. The firm also argued in its response that clearer rules would allow tokenization efforts to grow across multiple asset classes, including equities and ETFs.
The RWA tokenization market is close to surpassing $28 billion
Real-world asset tokenization received a major lift in the U.S. during the crypto-supportive Trump era. Globally, the sector’s market value is approaching $28 billion, and stablecoin adoption has topped 191 million holders.
Dinari even recently earned a broker-dealer license, a first for a tokenized stock trading firm, allowing it to offer tokenized securities. On the other hand, competitors like Kraken and Coinbase are still awaiting approval for their tokenized equities. Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, even claimed their tokenization project is a “huge priority.”
As recently reported by Cryptopolitan, Galaxy Digital also broke new ground, enabling tokenization of its SEC-registered GLXY shares on the Solana network. It worked with Superstate to launch a tokenized version of its Class A common stock (GLXY) on Solana. Now, through Opening Bell, Galaxy has become the first publicly listed U.S. company to issue its equity directly on-chain. It is entering the $64.7 billion real-world asset tokenization market.
“We’re proud to be working with Superstate to help lay the groundwork for an onchain capital market that bridges traditional equities with next-generation infrastructure,” chief executive Novogratz said in a statement. “Our goal is a tokenized equity that brings the best of crypto – transparency, programmability, and composability, into the traditional world.”
Galaxy Digital began considering tokenizing its shares in mid-August, revealing that it had partnered with Superstate to oversee the process. In April, Superstate submitted a letter to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, proposing a framework to bring Wall Street stocks on-chain.
DeFi lending protocols are growing due to tokenized assets
So far, lending protocols in DeFi have more than doubled their TVL since January, rising from $53B to $127B, according to Binance Research. Analysts have credited the boom to growing institutional use of stablecoins and tokenized RWAs.
Binance Research even noted that as stablecoin and tokenized asset adoption accelerates, DeFi lending protocols are increasingly positioned to facilitate institutional participation. The rally was largely fueled by Maple Finance and Euler, up 586% and 1,466% respectively.
Additionally, Binance Research noted that DeFi institutional adoption is driven by new offerings like Aave Labs’ Horizon, where tokenized RWAs can be pledged as collateral for stablecoin borrowing. Products like Horizon also seek to open up new liquidity streams and make RWAs productive within the DeFi space.
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