.png){kind=logo}
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said tokenized stocks could help modernize trading by reducing settlement delays and removing layers of financial middlemen. Speaking with Sujal Jethwani, Hougan compared today’s stock settlement process to sending an email on Friday and receiving it on Monday.
Hougan said U.S. stock trading still relies on a system where buyers can place orders quickly, yet settlement may take days. He questioned why markets still operate with delays that no longer match modern digital systems.
“What is that true of in the world?” Hougan asked. “It’s a crazy idea. Why is the world working that way?”
His remarks placed tokenization at the center of the debate over market speed and efficiency. Tokenized stocks use blockchain networks to represent ownership, allowing trades to settle in seconds instead of days.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has also described the market as being at the “beginning of the tokenization of all assets.” According to the report, Fink compared tokens to “digital deeds” that live on blockchain rails.
Hougan said tokenization can reduce settlement delays while cutting out intermediaries. He noted that a single stock trade often moves through seven different entities before reaching its final destination. Those entities can include custodians, banks, and other market participants. According to Hougan, each step creates extra cost and friction for investors.
He described each stop as a “tax” on money. In his view, blockchain can collapse that process and allow money to move more directly between people.
The market for tokenized stocks remains small compared with the broader equity market. Hougan put the tokenized stock market at about $680 million, while the total U.S. stock market stands near $68 trillion.
SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins has predicted that the entire U.S. market will move on-chain within a few years, according to Hougan’s comments. That shift would imply a 100,000x increase from today’s tokenized stock market.
Hougan said a move of that size would require major growth across crypto infrastructure. He said the stablecoin market would need to become 20 times larger to support on-chain equity activity. He also said blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana would need far more activity. That growth would support the volume required if U.S. stocks moved onto blockchain networks.
Recent market activity shows that tokenized stocks are moving from theory into practical use. Securitize and Computershare recently announced a partnership to help U.S. companies issue securities as digital tokens.
Under the model, Computershare would act as the transfer agent for both traditional and tokenized shares. The structure would also support dividend payments and proxy voting.
Read More: Bitwise CIO Links Recent Bitcoin Rise to Strategy’s Large-Scale Accumulation
Hougan said some investors struggle to value Ethereum or Solana through cash flow metrics alone. He argued that they may miss the scale implied by a 100,000x shift in tokenized markets. For crypto markets, tokenized stocks would expand blockchain use beyond Bitcoin, stablecoins, and DeFi. The move would bring blockchain infrastructure closer to the core of equity trading.
Bitwise has already framed tokenization as one of crypto’s major long-term disruptions. It has placed the trend alongside Bitcoin reinventing gold and stablecoins reinventing dollars.
Hougan’s argument centers on faster markets, lower costs, and more open settlement systems. Still, tokenized stocks must fit within securities laws, custody rules, investor protections, and market surveillance systems.
Regulators will also need to decide how blockchain-based shares interact with existing exchanges and brokers. For now, Hougan’s comments show how tokenization has become a central topic in Wall Street’s next market structure debate.
Tokenized stocks could reshape trading by speeding settlement, cutting middlemen, and lowering market friction. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says blockchain-based stocks may move U.S. equities closer to instant settlement while increasing demand for stablecoins, Ethereum, and Solana. The shift now depends on regulation, infrastructure, and market adoption.
