Securitize, a BlackRock-backed tokenization platform; and Computershare, the world’s largest securities transfer agent, announced on April 29 an agreement so that companies listed in the US can issue tokenized versions of their shares alongside traditional securities.
The idea is that the Australian firm Computershare act as agent transfer of 58% of S&P 500 companies. It would do it just as it does with conventional titles, which already include Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Nvidia and Disney. A fact that gives the agreement a scale of immediate potential application.
Ann Bowering, CEO of Computershare Issuer Services North America, spoke about this, pointing out that the focus of the agreement is to “empower companies listed in the US to issue tokenized shares while maintaining control over their share base”, a requirement that the firm identifies as a non-negotiable condition for public companies.
The central mechanism for this tokenization process are the so-called Issuer-Sponsored Tokens (IST)instruments that, according to Securitize, represent direct share ownership and not financial derivatives or intermediary structures.
Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, maintains that ISTs “provide US issuers with the ability to create direct equity ownership in token form,” without altering the structure of existing capital, nor deviate from the current regulatory framework.
At this point, the mechanisms that will be implemented for compliance are key, as they will determine whether or not these instruments comply with the guidelines drawn up by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The organization made it clear in January 2026 that tokenizing a stock does not change its regulatory treatment because Registration requirements under the Securities Act apply regardless of format.
In this sense, the regulator also warned that products that offer synthetic exposure, without conferring ownership or voting rights, will be subject to additional restrictionslimiting its distribution to retail investors. Consequently, Securitize’s IST model, operating with direct issuer support, is designed to avoid precisely those restrictions.
Tokenization is an additional layer, not a replacement
The agreement does not force any company to tokenize its shares. Each issuer must decide individually whether to incorporate IST into its issued capital. Currenc Group, a Nasdaq-listed company, has already turned to Securitize to tokenize its securities, opening up options such as continuous trading, fractional ownership, and use in decentralized finance protocols.
Securitize, backed by BlackRock and with more than $4 billion in tokenized assets under management, has agreements in place with the New York Stock Exchange for the development of a tokenized securities platform. Also with managers like Apollo, KKR and VanEck. The firm states that this agreement “opens the door for millions of investors to hold their shares in tokenized form.”
Sunday argues that the ISTs model avoids the main structural problem of tokenized products existing: that the tokens represent claims on shares and not the shares themselves. That distinction, according to the firm, is what allows it to operate within US regulatory frameworks without requiring additional approvals.
Securitize accumulates agreements with the NYSE, BlackRock and now Computershare, consolidating its position as the operator with the greatest institutional reach in the tokenization of stocks in the US. The question that remains open is not whether the infrastructure exists, but how many S&P 500 companies will decide to use it.