Securitize Becomes the First Broker-Dealer Approved to Custody Tokenised Securities
- Shawn Jhanji
- May 5
- 3 min read
For founders and institutional investors watching the tokenised securities space, 4 May marked a quiet but structurally important inflection point. Securitize, the world's leading tokenisation platform by assets under administration, received approvals from FINRA that expand the capabilities of its broker-dealer subsidiary, Securitize Markets LLC, in ways that have not existed in the US financial system before.
The approval makes Securitize Markets the first company approved to custody tokenised securities within a regular broker-dealer structure. It also permits the firm to act as an underwriter and selling group participant for both initial and secondary tokenised securities offerings. Taken together, those two approvals constitute what Securitize describes as a full-stack IPO infrastructure for onchain capital markets.
What the Approval Covers
FINRA's expanded clearance was granted through its Continuing Membership Application process, the mechanism by which broker-dealers seek regulatory approval to add new business lines or material capabilities. Two distinct permissions were granted.
The first is custody of tokenised securities within a regular broker-dealer structure. This is new. Previously, the custody of non-standard financial instruments in a broker-dealer context carried regulatory ambiguity that limited commercial deployment. FINRA's decision through the CMA process establishes clear legal standing.
The second is the ability to facilitate atomic settlement between tokenised securities and stablecoins onchain. Atomic settlement means trades are executed and settled simultaneously, removing the counterparty risk and settlement lag inherent in traditional markets, where T+1 or T+2 settlement windows create exposure between trade execution and finality.
The underwriting approval is equally significant. Securitize can now act as underwriter for tokenised initial offerings, not only as infrastructure for secondary trading. This positions the firm as a participant in primary issuance as well as in post-trade processes, completing an end-to-end capital markets capability within a single regulated entity.
Why This Matters Now
Securitize already manages $4 billion in assets under administration as of April 2026, including the operational infrastructure for BlackRock's BUIDL fund, among the largest tokenised fund products in the market. The firm is also in the process of a business combination with Cantor Equity Partners II that would see it listed as a public company at a $1.25 billion valuation, a transaction expected to close in the first half of 2026.
The FINRA approval adds regulatory infrastructure to commercial scale. A platform managing $4 billion in tokenised assets, undergoing a public listing, and now the first broker-dealer approved to custody and atomically settle tokenised securities is no longer an experiment. It is a functioning piece of capital markets infrastructure.
For the wider market, the significance lies partly in what this enables for other participants. An approved broker-dealer with atomic settlement capability and underwriting rights is a venue through which other issuers can offer tokenised securities to institutional investors with regulatory clarity on both the issuance and settlement sides.
What Comes Next
Securitize's pending public listing through Cantor Equity Partners II will, if completed, give the firm access to public market capital and a stronger balance sheet to build out that infrastructure at scale. The combination of public profile, FINRA-regulated custody, and onchain IPO underwriting capability is a genuinely novel configuration in financial markets.
For UK and European founders and investors monitoring this space, the Securitize development is a signal about where the US market is heading: toward a regulatory environment in which tokenised securities are treated not as peripheral instruments but as a recognised asset class with its own settlement, custody and underwriting infrastructure.
Key Takeaways
Securitize received FINRA approval on 4 May 2026 to custody tokenised securities in a regular broker-dealer structure, the first company to do so.
The approval enables atomic settlement between tokenised securities and stablecoins onchain, removing settlement lag.
Securitize Markets is now also approved to underwrite tokenised IPOs, completing a full onchain capital markets stack.
The firm manages $4 billion in AUM including BlackRock's BUIDL fund and is merging with Cantor Equity Partners II at a $1.25 billion valuation.
The approval signals the US is treating tokenised securities as a recognised instrument class with regulated infrastructure.
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