Grayscale Names 5 Crypto Networks That Could Gain From Tokenized Equities
Grayscale’s July 9 research names five crypto networks, Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Canton Network, as possible winners if tokenized equities keep growing. My take: the real story is not “stocks on blockchain” as a slogan. It is banks, brokers, and crypto firms testing whether Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Canton Network can handle traditional financial assets without turning every transaction into a compliance science project. Why does this matter? Because even a small piece of public equities moving on-chain would create demand that is separate from meme coins, airdrop farming, or the usual crypto speculation cycle.
Grayscale breaks equity tokenization into three phases, each with a different blockchain setup. Phase one is already live and accounts for more than 70% of tokenized stocks by market capitalization. It uses third party wrappers. Traditional shares sit inside a special purpose vehicle, or SPV, and investors get tokens tied to claims on that vehicle. They do not own the underlying shares directly. These wrapped assets already trade on Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain, where users can move them around or plug them into DeFi apps. It is clunky. It still counts.
Most tokenization guides make wrappers sound like a temporary hack before the “real” version arrives. That’s only half right. The wrapper model is awkward, yes, but it has one advantage the cleaner models do not: it is already being used. I’ll be honest: in crypto market structure, “messy but live” often beats “elegant but pending.” Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain have the current footprint here, not because the wrapper structure is beautiful, but because liquidity and user behavior are already there.
The second phase, according to Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl, is linked to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s planned pilot. DTCC plans to use Canton Network first. The aim is to bring eligible securities on-chain through regulated post trade infrastructure. This “entitlement model” is different from wrappers because it tries to connect securities to blockchain records directly instead of creating a separate claim on shares held somewhere else. DTCC’s role matters more than the branding. This is Wall Street’s back office testing new back office rails, which is about as dramatic as financial infrastructure gets. If the pilot works, Canton Network could draw interest from institutions that would avoid a fully public chain for this use case.
Counter to the usual crypto-native advice, the permissioned design is not automatically a weakness here. For a DeFi trader, Canton Network may look constrained. For a regulated institution handling eligible securities through post trade infrastructure, that constraint can be the point. Is this boring? Absolutely. But boring infrastructure is where securities markets usually change first.
The third phase is issuer sponsored tokenization. In plain English, companies issue securities directly on-chain. Grayscale sees this as the model with the most long term upside, and it says Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche look best placed to benefit. Securitize has already tokenized its own common stock as part of its New York Stock Exchange listing, so this is not just a whiteboard idea anymore. Direct issuance could cut friction and cost in capital markets. Could. That word matters, because wider adoption still depends on regulators giving companies and investors a clearer path.
Yes, this slightly contradicts the enthusiasm in the previous paragraph. Bear with me. Issuer sponsored tokenization may be the cleanest end state, but clean end states can take years to matter in markets. We have seen this pattern before in crypto infrastructure: the technically superior model does not always win first. Distribution wins first. Then regulation decides how much of that win survives.
Grayscale does not expect one model to replace the others. Wrappers could stay active. DTCC’s entitlement model could develop through Canton Network. Issuer sponsored issuance could grow on Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche if the rules sharpen. The split between Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Canton Network is still unsettled. Regulation matters. Issuer appetite matters. Execution probably matters most. For crypto investors, the point is not to pick one chain and stop thinking. It is to watch where real activity shows up, because tokenized equities may spread across different networks for different reasons.
What this means
The report suggests real world asset tokenization is getting past the pitch deck stage. Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, and Avalanche keep appearing because they already have users, liquidity, and developers. Canton Network is a different case. It is permissioned, which makes it less appealing to crypto purists but easier for institutions that care about compliance, privacy, and control. My read: that tension is the story. Finance wants blockchain settlement and programmability without inheriting all of crypto’s chaos. Fair enough.
Investors should watch the boring stuff first: SEC guidance, issuer filings, DTCC pilot updates, daily active users, transaction volume, DeFi liquidity tied to wrapped equities, and actual issuer announcements. The boring stuff usually moves first. If issuer sponsored tokenization gets clearer rules, that could matter more than another vague institutional quote. If the DTCC pilot on Canton works, the entitlement model could start looking credible. And if wrapped equity activity keeps rising on Ethereum, Solana, or BNB Chain, traders will notice. What would change the market’s mind quickly? A strong regulatory announcement or a clean large scale pilot, especially with ETH near the $4,000 area or SOL pushing back toward prior highs.
Skip the victory lap. Tokenized equities are not guaranteed to become a major crypto catalyst just because Grayscale named five networks. But the setup is more concrete than it was when the conversation was mostly about demos and conference panels. There are now live wrappers, a DTCC-Canton Network pilot path, and an issuer sponsored example through Securitize’s own common stock tied to its New York Stock Exchange listing. That is enough to watch closely.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What is tokenized equity?
- Tokenized equity means company shares are represented as digital tokens on a blockchain. Depending on the structure, those tokens may represent direct ownership or a claim tied to shares held elsewhere.
- Which crypto networks did Grayscale identify as beneficiaries?
- Grayscale named Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Canton Network as networks that could benefit from tokenized equities.
- What are the three phases of equity tokenization?
- Grayscale describes three phases: third party wrappers, DTCC’s entitlement model, and issuer sponsored tokenization.
- What is the “wrapper” model for tokenized equities?
- In the wrapper model, traditional shares are held in a special purpose vehicle, or SPV. Investors receive tokens that represent claims on that vehicle, not direct ownership of the shares.
- What is the DTCC’s role in tokenized equities?
- DTCC plans to run a pilot using Canton Network to bring eligible securities on-chain through regulated post trade infrastructure. Grayscale calls this an “entitlement model.”
- What is issuer-sponsored tokenization?
- Issuer sponsored tokenization is when a company issues its securities directly on a blockchain. Grayscale sees this as the model with the most long term potential.
- Why is Canton Network included, given it’s a permissioned blockchain?
- Canton Network fits the institutional side of the story. Permissioned chains can give firms more control over compliance and privacy, which matters for use cases like the DTCC pilot.
- How could tokenized equities impact the crypto market?
- If more traditional assets move on-chain, capital may flow toward the networks that support those assets. That could create demand beyond normal crypto trading cycles.
- What should investors watch for regarding tokenized equities?
- Investors should watch regulatory updates, issuer sponsored tokenization, and the DTCC pilot on Canton Network. Those are the clearest near term signals.
- Which networks are currently hosting the majority of tokenized stocks by market cap?
- According to Grayscale, Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain currently host more than 70% of tokenized stocks by market capitalization through third party wrappers.