Lesson 9 of 10 · 4 min read
Tokenized stocks: what they are, and who can trade them
The idea, the catch for US students, and what Viru offers outside the US.
The idea
A tokenized stock is a token that represents a share of a real company or an ETF, so it can be held and traded like a coin, around the clock. Done properly, the issuer holds the actual share with a custodian and the token tracks its price.
Holding one gives you the price, not the rights of a shareholder: no vote at the annual meeting, and whatever the issuer's documents say about dividends and corporate actions is what you get.
The catch, if you're in the US
The tokenized stocks available on public blockchains today (xStocks, from Backed Finance) are issued offshore under a rule called Regulation S, which means they are explicitly not for people in the United States. Offering them to US students would break securities law, however legitimate the issuer is.
So if you live in the US, the Tokenized stocks tab on Markets is a watchlist and a waitlist, and Viru shows you no token that tracks a stock price. Trading for US residents can only come through a registered broker-dealer, in a later version.
Outside the US
If you live outside the United States, tell Viru where you live (Profile → Where you live). Viru also checks which country your connection is in, when you say so and every time you trade. When both are outside the US, the Tokenized stocks tab lists the xStocks that pass Viru's verification, and you buy and sell them in dollars from your cash on Solana, exactly like a coin, signing each trade yourself.
Viru lists them by one neutral rule: a verified address confirmed by two sources, enough on-chain liquidity for a small trade to get in and out, no leveraged or inverse products, and an underlying that is an exchange-listed share or ETF. Sorted A–Z. None of it is a recommendation.
Risks that are specific to these tokens
On-chain liquidity is far thinner than the stock market's, so a token's price can drift from the share's, especially at night and on weekends when the stock market is closed. The preview before you sign shows the price you'll actually get; read it.
You're trusting the issuer to hold the shares and honour the token. That is a risk on top of the company's own. Keep amounts small while you learn, and never put in money you can't afford to lose.
Trades in tokenized stocks are not posted to the Viru feed, because they must only be shown where they are allowed.
Education only. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything.