tl;dr
Hong Kong investors are trading U.S. stocks 24/7 via tokenized assets on crypto platforms, bypassing traditional brokers and reshaping global finance.
**Title: The 24/7 On-Chain Revolution: How Tokenized U.S. Stocks Are Reshaping Global Finance**
In a quiet shift that’s quietly redefining the financial landscape, Hong Kong investors are now trading U.S. equities at midnight, bypassing traditional brokers and trading windows. Thanks to tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs offered through platforms like Ondo Global Markets and integrated into crypto wallets such as Bitget, Wall Street is becoming a 24/7, on-chain market. This innovation is not just a novelty—it’s a glimpse into the future of global finance, where wallets, not brokers, are set to become the default portal for non-U.S. investors.
### From Synthetic Failures to Real Backing
Tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs)—such as stocks, bonds, and ETFs—has been a vision for over a decade. Early attempts, like synthetic models (e.g., Synthetix and Mirror), allowed tokens to track stock prices via oracles but offered no ownership rights. Contracts for difference (CFDs) and other derivative-based approaches also emerged, but they lacked the transparency and security of true ownership.
However, the tide is turning. Fully backed tokenized securities, which represent direct claims on real shares held by regulated custodians, are gaining momentum. In August 2025, Galaxy Digital became the first U.S.-listed company to tokenize its stock using Superstate and Solana. Nasdaq has since filed a proposal to enable tokenized securities trading on its main market by 2026, while Kraken’s “xStocks” now offers tokenized Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia, backed one-to-one by physical shares. Even Robinhood has entered the fray in Europe, though its tokenized U.S. stocks are contracts, not shares, raising questions about ownership rights.
### The Stablecoin Precedent
The rise of stablecoins offers a roadmap for how traditional assets could migrate onto blockchain. By tokenizing the U.S. dollar, stablecoins grew into a $160 billion+ market, becoming the backbone of crypto payments, remittances, and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Tokenized equities could follow a similar path, extending Wall Street’s reach beyond U.S. trading hours. Imagine holding fractional shares of Apple or Tesla in your wallet, tradable anytime, anywhere—assets priced in dollars but accessible 24/7. This shift is already underway: tokenized Treasuries and cash equivalents now exceed $7.4 billion, and overall RWA supply on-chain surpassed $25 billion in 2025, up from just $100 million five years ago.
### Wallets as Financial Gateways
For decades, accessing U.S. markets required intermediaries like brokers, bank accounts, and regulatory approvals. Today, the entry point is a crypto wallet. These digital tools are evolving into all-in-one financial gateways, combining payments, savings, and investments. A worker in Lagos or Manila can receive a stablecoin remittance, pay bills, and allocate funds into tokenized S&P 500 shares—all within a single app.
Bitget Wallet’s integration with Ondo Finance exemplifies this trend. Users can now access 100+ tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs, settled on-chain. This model mirrors the mobile money revolution in Africa and Asia, where wallets leapfrogged traditional banking. The result? A low-barrier gateway to capital markets for billions of unbanked and underbanked individuals.
### Liquidity, Regulation, and the Roadblocks Remaining
Despite the promise, challenges persist. Liquidity has historically been a bottleneck for tokenized assets. Early experiments failed not due to lack of interest, but because of shallow trading depths. New models aim to bridge this gap by linking on-chain tokens directly to traditional market liquidity, though scalability remains uncertain.
Regulatory hurdles also loom large. Current access is often limited to non-U.S. users and requires KYC checks. Investors must navigate unclear rules around dividends, stock splits, and voting rights, as well as the custodianship of underlying assets. Structural issues like custodial centralization, whitelisting requirements, and valuation opacity further complicate adoption. Today, tokenized stocks total just $420 million in market cap—a fraction of the broader $28 billion RWA market.
### Three Takeaways
The transformation of finance hinges on three key shifts:
1. **Always-On Access**: Tokenized equities are extending traditional markets into a 24/7 trading environment.
2. **Wallet-First Investing**: Wallets are evolving into seamless gateways for payments, savings, and equity investments.
3. **Compliance as a Catalyst**: Regulatory clarity on eligibility, custodianship, and voting rights will determine the pace of adoption.
### The Next Layer of Finance
Finance is accelerating toward a faster, borderless model. Stablecoins proved the potential of on-chain dollars; now, tokenized securities are testing the same for stocks. The endgame could be a world where paychecks arrive as stablecoins, portions auto-invest in tokenized indices, and all assets—cash, equities, and crypto—coexist in a single wallet.
Wall Street’s traditional clock is being reset. While the opening bell may still ring in New York, the 24/7 on-chain economy is here to stay. The future of finance isn’t just digital—it’s decentralized, accessible, and always open.