Bullish and four firms form coalition for issuer-sponsored tokenised stocks

Key points

• Bullish, Equiniti, Alpaca, Apex Fintech Solutions and Drivewealth formed the Issuer Sponsored Token Coalition on 24 Sept.
• Equiniti serves nearly 3,000 issuers and more than 20 million shareholders, linking the group to official ownership records.
• The SEC opened a five-year Innovation Exemption on 17 Sept for tokenised securities venues, requiring tokens to carry the same rights as shares.
• Alpaca reported roughly 94% of tokenised US stocks and ETFs through mid-2026, backed by over $1.5bn in custodied shares.
• Coalition members will meet public-company issuers at the New York Stock Exchange on 27 Oct; no new tokenised stock launched with the group.

Bullish and four financial firms have formed the Issuer Sponsored Token Coalition to close a gap in Wall Street's tokenisation push: many tokens marketed as tokenised stocks are not actually shares. The group, announced on 24 Sept, wants onchain tokens connected directly to companies' official shareholder registers, so voting, dividend and corporate-action rights travel with the token.

The distinction matters because investors can already buy tokens that carry the names and price movements of US stocks without becoming shareholders. Drivewealth chief executive Naureen Hassan said much of what is marketed today as tokenised equity is not equity at all, adding that investors believe they own the share when they do not. The coalition's answer is issuer-sponsored tokenisation, in which the public company and its transfer agent are directly involved.

Traditional tokenised-stock models usually begin with a broker holding real shares in custody and minting tokens against them one to one. That can give holders economic exposure and sometimes dividends, but the holder is not necessarily listed on the company's official shareholder register. Voting rights, proxies and corporate actions can therefore sit in a grey area.

Coalition targets ownership gap

Issuer-sponsored tokenisation instead ties the token to the official ownership record, so rights such as voting, dividends and stock splits can move with it. The timing follows the SEC's 17 Sept decision to open a five-year Innovation Exemption letting certain Tokenized Securities Venues run permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools for tokenised National Market System stocks. Qualifying tokens must provide the same rights and privileges as traditional shares, which price-tracking tokens do not.

The coalition brings together much of the infrastructure needed to make that work. Equiniti, which Bullish agreed to acquire in May, serves nearly 3,000 issuer clients and more than 20 million shareholders, and as a transfer agent maintains official shareholder books. Alpaca reported through mid-2026 that it accounted for roughly 94% of tokenised US stocks and ETFs, backed by more than $1.5bn in underlying shares held in custody.

Apex Fintech Solutions provides clearing and broker-dealer infrastructure, while Drivewealth supplies US stock access to investing platforms worldwide. The group plans to work on technical standards, settlement, custody and interoperability between traditional market infrastructure and blockchains. Members will also meet public-company issuers at the New York Stock Exchange on 27 Oct.

Register-backed tokens explained

No new tokenised stock launched alongside the coalition. As the article puts it, before Wall Street can put real shares onchain, it first has to ensure a token saying you own one actually means you do.

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