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Superstate, a tokenization startup co-founded by Defi OG Robert Leshner, announced its new equity tokenization products from Solana and Ethereum this morning.
The platform, dubbed the “Opening Bell,” allows companies to natively issue shares in Onchain. This is a remarkable innovation in tokenized public equity. Holding company Sol Strategies, focused on Solana, has become the platform’s first participant.
Many people in Solana quickly celebrated the news. Because in those early days, Anatoly Jakovenko, co-founder of Solana, sometimes compared networks to Nasdaq on blockchain. Today, Jacovenko wrote an unusual blog post alongside Anza’s lead economist Max Lesnik, outlining how Solana’s path to creating a decentralized Nasdaq can be implemented through the implementation of multiple simultaneous leaders.
The concept of tokenized inventory is not new. You can give tokens in exchange for Tesla stocks. In addition to the potential regulations red flag, the problem with this kind of thing is that tokens are traded in environments with less liquid than the original stock. If you try to trade on DEXS, you may be stuck at an older price compared to what is available on the stock exchange.
What appears to make SuperState stand out is its SEC registration transfer agent This carries out the issuance and redemption of shares or dividends on behalf of the company. Onchain Equity issued this way can travel around the world more efficiently and possibly could be used as collateral for Defi. Users must pass KYC checks before accessing stocks that open the bell.
Superstar point Another interesting use case: “listing”. This allows private companies to issue stocks in the crypto native market before attempting to achieve their list of Nasdaq or NYSE. In a telegram message, Leshner said Superstate couldn’t make it easier for businesses to make it public, but he still believes the “listing” process will become popular.
To see why this is true, consider the hypothesis. Sol Strategy is currently awaiting approval to trade on the Nasdaq. If the stock is attracting a lot of interest by opening the bell, it will likely make it more sure that regulators will approve and investing bankers will be more excited by the US-based underwriting of Sol Strategies Stock.
“We are proud to be the first public company working hard to take this step,” says Leah Wald, CEO of Sol Strategies. “Tokenization of stocks is more than a technology upgrade. It aligns with the next generation of market infrastructure and investors’ expectations.”