Securitize Markets is a regulated infrastructure platform for the issuance, distribution, and secondary trading of tokenized securities and Real World Assets. The platform is part of the broader Securitize ecosystem, which works with investment funds, private-market assets, credit strategies, and other financial instruments represented on blockchain networks. The company's partners include BlackRock, Apollo, Hamilton Lane, KKR, VanEck, and other asset managers, while the tokenized BlackRock BUIDL fund has become one of its most recognizable products. By 2026, Securitize had expanded its model beyond fund tokenization toward infrastructure for on-chain equities, regulated trading, and settlement across the U.S. and European markets.
Contents
- What Is Securitize Markets and How Does the Tokenization Platform Work?
- BUIDL, Apollo and Other Tokenized Funds on Securitize
- ATS, Blockchain and Secondary Trading of Digital Securities
- Regulation, Tokenized Equities and Securitize Infrastructure
- Securitize Markets Development and the Future of the RWA Market
1. What Is Securitize Markets and How Does the Tokenization Platform Work?
Securitize was founded by Carlos Domingo and develops technological and regulated infrastructure for bringing traditional financial instruments onto blockchain networks. Unlike a DeFi protocol that issues its own crypto assets, the company works with securities and investment products whose ownership rights are represented by digital tokens. Blockchain serves as an additional layer for recordkeeping, transfers, and programmable asset management.
Securitize Markets is the group's U.S. subsidiary and is registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer. The company also operates a regulated Alternative Trading System, or ATS. This structure combines blockchain technology with traditional securities-market requirements, including investor verification, transfer restrictions for certain assets, and regulated secondary trading.
The ecosystem is not limited to a trading venue. Securitize Transfer Agent operates as a registered transfer agent, while Securitize Fund Services provides fund administration services. In July 2026, Securitize Capital also became registered with the SEC as an investment adviser, expanding the group's regulated infrastructure for investment strategies.
As a result, tokenization can cover a significant portion of a financial product's lifecycle. The platform can be used to issue a digital security, maintain ownership records, distribute assets to eligible investors, administer funds, and facilitate secondary liquidity. This distinguishes Securitize from solutions that provide only a technical smart contract for token issuance.
2. BUIDL, Apollo and Other Tokenized Funds on Securitize
One of Securitize's key business areas is the tokenization of investment funds managed by institutional asset managers. A prominent example is the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, or BUIDL, launched in 2024. The fund primarily invests in cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements, while investors' interests are represented through blockchain-based tokens.
BUIDL illustrates an important difference between a tokenized investment fund and a conventional cryptocurrency token. Its value and economic rights are linked to a regulated investment structure and a portfolio of traditional financial assets. Blockchain provides the digital representation of fund interests and related transactions, but it does not replace the asset manager, administrator, custody functions, or regulatory requirements.
| Component | Type | Role in the Securitize Ecosystem |
|---|---|---|
| BUIDL | Tokenized fund | On-chain representation of the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund |
| Apollo ACRED | Private credit | Tokenized access to Apollo's private credit strategy |
| Hamilton Lane | Private markets | Tokenized private-market investment products |
| Securitize Markets | Broker-dealer / ATS | Regulated infrastructure for transactions involving digital securities |
| Securitize Transfer Agent | Transfer agent | Ownership recordkeeping and servicing of digital securities |
| Securitize Fund Services | Fund administration | Administrative infrastructure for investment funds |
Securitize also works with Apollo, Hamilton Lane, KKR, VanEck, and other financial institutions. Its ecosystem includes solutions for private credit and private equity, asset classes that are traditionally less accessible through public exchanges. Tokenization can simplify the digital administration of these instruments, although it does not automatically make private assets liquid or available to every investor.
According to the company's publicly available materials, more than $4 billion in tokenized assets were being serviced through Securitize's infrastructure by April 2026. Individual products may still have their own eligibility requirements, minimum investment thresholds, and investor restrictions. Therefore, placing a fund on a blockchain does not eliminate the legal limitations applicable to the underlying category of securities.
3. ATS, Blockchain and Secondary Trading of Digital Securities
Issuing a token is only one stage in the lifecycle of a digital security. A functioning market also requires infrastructure that allows assets to be legally transferred between investors. Securitize Markets addresses this requirement through an Alternative Trading System operating within the U.S. securities regulatory framework.
An ATS differs significantly from a conventional decentralized exchange. On a permissionless DEX, a smart contract generally allows any compatible wallet to interact with a liquidity pool. Regulated digital securities may require identity verification, investor-status checks, jurisdictional screening, and other compliance procedures. Transfers can therefore be restricted to addresses that satisfy the rules governing a particular security.
Blockchain can automate parts of this process. Ownership records, transfer restrictions, and corporate actions can interact with digital infrastructure instead of existing exclusively across separate databases maintained by intermediaries. This approach can be particularly relevant to private markets, where transferring ownership rights and updating investor records traditionally involve substantial administrative processes.
Securitize follows a multichain model. Different products have been issued or expanded across Ethereum, Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum, and other networks, while BUIDL has gradually gained support for multiple blockchains. The choice of network depends on the financial product, issuer requirements, and available infrastructure, meaning that Securitize is not tied exclusively to a single Layer 1 or Layer 2 ecosystem.
4. Regulation, Tokenized Equities and Securitize Infrastructure
Regulation is a central component of the Securitize model. In the United States, the group combines a registered broker-dealer, ATS, transfer agent, fund administrator, and investment adviser. In Europe, Securitize Europe Brokerage and Markets received authorization to operate as an investment firm and as an operator of a Trading & Settlement System under the EU DLT Pilot Regime.
This structure is necessary because tokenization does not inherently change the legal nature of an asset. If a token represents an interest in an investment fund or shares of a company, it remains subject to the applicable securities-market rules. Blockchain changes the technological mechanism for recording and transferring rights, but it does not turn a regulated financial instrument into a conventional utility token.
Key Features of Securitize Infrastructure:
- issuance and servicing of tokenized Real World Assets;
- SEC-registered broker-dealer through Securitize Markets;
- regulated Alternative Trading System for digital securities;
- registered transfer agent for maintaining ownership records;
- administration of tokenized investment funds;
- collaboration with BlackRock, Apollo, Hamilton Lane, KKR, and other asset managers;
- support for public blockchains and multichain infrastructure;
- compliance mechanisms for controlling permitted asset transfers;
- regulated infrastructure for the U.S. and European Union markets;
- development of tokenized equities and digital infrastructure for public markets.
In 2026, tokenized equities became an increasingly important area of development. Securitize began working with Computershare on infrastructure designed to allow U.S. public companies to issue shares with blockchain-based representations alongside traditional ownership records. Computershare serves as the transfer agent, enabling on-chain records to be integrated with the existing regulated securities ownership framework.
Another major initiative involved collaboration with the New York Stock Exchange. In March 2026, NYSE selected Securitize to participate in the development of tokenized securities infrastructure and digital transfer-agent capabilities for its planned trading platform. This model differs from synthetic tokenized stocks because the objective is to move regulated ownership rights themselves onto new technological rails.
5. Securitize Markets Development and the Future of the RWA Market
Securitize's development reflects the broader transition from experimental security tokens toward institutional-grade tokenization infrastructure. Early projects in the sector largely focused on issuing individual digital securities. The modern model extends across money-market funds, private credit, private equity, public equities, transfer agency, fund administration, and secondary trading.
In 2026, the company continued strengthening its connections with traditional capital markets. In addition to its work with NYSE and Computershare, Securitize began collaborating with Cantor on infrastructure for blockchain-based IPOs. This approach is intended to allow companies to raise capital and issue securities through on-chain infrastructure while maintaining the regulated framework of public markets.
At the same time, the company itself continued to scale. In 2026, Securitize began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SECZ following the completion of its transaction with Cantor Equity Partners II. Public-company status adds another layer of reporting requirements to a business whose core specialization is bringing traditional financial assets into digital form.
Securitize Markets represents a model in which blockchain is used not as an alternative to financial regulation but as a technological layer for existing capital markets. BUIDL and other tokenized funds demonstrate the application of this infrastructure to institutional RWA, while projects involving NYSE, Computershare, and Cantor extend the concept toward public equities and primary issuance. The platform's future development will depend on regulatory practices, secondary-market liquidity, broader adoption of tokenized funds, and whether blockchain infrastructure can deliver measurable advantages in settlement, ownership recordkeeping, and the use of financial assets within on-chain markets.
