In brief
- Superstate has launched an onchain Direct Issuance Program that lets SEC-registered public companies issue new, tokenized shares directly to investors on Ethereum and Solana.
- Settlement happens in stablecoins, with investors paying in tokenized dollars and receiving tokenized shares instantly at real-time market prices.
Superstate is moving beyond secondary-market tokenization and into primary capital raising, unveiling a Direct Issuance Program that lets SEC-registered public companies sell newly issued, tokenized shares directly to investors on Ethereum and Solana, with settlement in stablecoins and real-time updates to the shareholder register.
The first offerings under the program are expected to go live in 2026, subject to the usual registration process, marking one of the most explicit attempts yet to move core functions of U.S. public equity markets — issuance, settlement and record-keeping — onto public blockchains.
The program builds on Superstate’s status as an SEC-registered transfer agent and its Opening Bell platform. Superstate launched Opening Bell in May 2025 to support SEC-registered public equities issued and traded directly on public blockchains, initially Solana.
From tokenizing existing shares to issuing new ones
Superstate has spent the past year positioning itself as infrastructure for onchain public markets rather than a one-off tokenization vendor.
In September, Galaxy Digital partnered with Superstate to allow holders of its Class A common stock (GLXY) to tokenize shares on Solana through Opening Bell. The GLXY tokens are legally the same SEC-registered equity that trades on Nasdaq and the Toronto Stock Exchange, with Superstate acting as transfer agent and updating the official shareholder registry in real time as tokens move between KYC-verified wallets.
According to Galaxy and Superstate, tokenized GLXY shares can only be held by addresses that have completed onboarding and been added to an on-chain allowlist. Transfers to non-approved addresses fail at the smart-contract level, a design intended to keep the token fully within securities law while still allowing self-custody and near-instant settlement.
SharpLink Gaming has followed a similar path. The Nasdaq-listed firm plans to tokenize its SBET shares on Ethereum, also through Opening Bell, in a deal billed as the first time a public company will natively issue its Nasdaq-listed equity on that chain. Other issuers, including Upexi, have announced plans to explore tokenizing their SEC-registered stock on Solana using Superstate’s infrastructure.
The new Direct Issuance Program extends that model from secondary tokenization — turning already-issued shares into onchain equivalents — into primary capital formation. Instead of relying on underwriters and broker-dealers to distribute new stock, issuers will be able to:
- File standard registration statements with the SEC for a new or existing class of equity.
- Receive stablecoins directly into a treasury wallet from KYC-verified investors.
- Issue tokenized shares to investor wallets at real-time market prices, while the on-chain transfer agent logic updates the official shareholder registry.
The company says issuers can reuse an existing CUSIP and capital structure or register new onchain-native classes, while keeping voting and economic rights aligned with the traditional security.
Stablecoins as settlement rails
Superstate’s move comes as stablecoins are increasingly used as transactional infrastructure rather than just trading collateral.
Global stablecoin market capitalization has climbed above $316 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap, with Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC accounting for a large share.
Recent data show the two largest stablecoins alone now have a combined market cap around $260 billion, with annual transaction volume measured in the tens of trillions of dollars. IMF reports that use of stablecoins in cross-border payments and remittances is growing fast. and treasury use cases.
Ethereum and Solana sit at the center of that activity, hosting the majority of leading dollar-pegged stablecoins by value and transaction volume. By anchoring direct issuance to those two networks, Superstate is effectively plugging U.S. public-equity capital raising into the same rails already used for onchain dollar liquidity, DeFi lending and tokenized Treasuries.
Superstate has been an active participant in that “real-world asset” (RWA) trend. In early 2024, the company launched USTB, a tokenized short-term U.S. Treasury fund on Ethereum, pitched as a higher-yield alternative for institutional stablecoin holders and treasury desks that want to keep cash onchain.
CEO Robert Leshner, who previously founded the Compound DeFi protocol, has argued that much of traditional capital markets’ friction stems from legacy intermediaries and batch-based processes that are increasingly out of step with 24/7 digital finance. In a mid-2025 industry discussion, he framed tokenization as a “bridge” that lets regulated financial products plug into blockchain-based settlement without abandoning existing investor protections.
The new program makes stablecoins the default settlement asset for primary offerings: issuers receive proceeds immediately in tokenized dollars, while investors receive tokenized equity with the same rights as their brokerage-held stock, but with additional onchain programmability where regulation allows.
What changes for issuers and investors?
The direct-issuance model is aimed at both large and mid-cap corporates that want to tap a broader investor base and reduce the cost and complexity of follow-on offerings.
For issuers, Superstate pitches several potential advantages versus conventional secondary raises or at-the-market programs:
Lower distribution costs: Routing offerings directly to investors via smart contracts could reduce underwriting and placement fees, although traditional intermediaries may still be involved for marketing and advisory work.
Faster settlement: Proceeds arrive in stablecoins as soon as a transaction is confirmed onchain, versus T+2 or longer in traditional equity issuance and follow-on offerings.
Granular control: Issuers can codify parameters around pricing, eligibility, maximum allocations, and timing in smart contracts, and adjust or pause programs via the Superstate portal.
For investors, the model echoes the rhetoric of “democratized access” that accompanied the rise of online brokerages and direct listings. Eligible retail and institutional buyers can subscribe directly to new shares on identical terms, with allocations driven by smart-contract rules rather than bookrunner discretion.
Tokenized shares settle directly to investor wallets and are recorded in their own name on the issuer’s shareholder registry rather than through an omnibus street-name account. That structure could make it easier for companies to engage directly with their investor base and for smaller buyers to access corporate actions without relying on intermediaries.
Still, participation is far from trustless or permissionless. As with GLXY and anticipated Ethereum-based SBET shares, investors must complete KYC and be added to an allowlist to receive and transfer the tokens. That design flattens access within a regulated perimeter but stops short of fully decentralized secondary trading.
Regulatory and market-structure constraints
The Direct Issuance Program arrives amid a broader wave of experiments in tokenized public equities, from Galaxy’s Solana-based GLXY shares to planned offerings integrated into centralized crypto venues like Backpack.
So far, most of those projects sidestep the thorniest regulatory questions by keeping trading within walled gardens of KYC’d participants and limiting how tokens can circulate between venues. U.S. securities regulators have yet to clarify how fully onchain order books or automated market makers for registered equities should be treated, and several industry initiatives have been designed explicitly to remain compatible with existing transfer-agent and alternative trading system (ATS) rules.
Superstate’s approach follows that pattern. By acting as an SEC-registered transfer agent and embedding compliance logic into smart contracts, the company aims to move record-keeping and settlement onto public chains without triggering untested market-structure regimes. The Direct Issuance Program still relies on SEC registration statements, familiar disclosure requirements and KYC checks, even as the mechanics of subscription and settlement migrate onchain.
That could prove attractive to regulators wary of synthetic or unregistered “stock tokens” that proliferated in prior crypto cycles, many of which relied on derivatives or custodial wrappers and in some cases bypassed issuer consent altogether.
However, it also means the initial addressable market is likely to be limited to investors willing to undergo identity verification and issuers prepared to work through the SEC registration process for an emerging structure. The first live offerings in 2026 will serve as a test of whether the operational and cost benefits are sufficient to offset the learning curve and perceived risk.
Tokenization push gathers pace
The launch underscores how quickly tokenization has moved from pilot projects around money-market funds and private credit into more visible segments of public markets.
Tokenized Treasury and money-market funds from firms such as Franklin Templeton, BlackRock and others have grown rapidly, with several industry trackers estimating tens of billions in tokenized fixed-income assets across public chains. Superstate’s USTB and related products compete in that same arena, offering onchain exposure to short-duration U.S. government securities.
Equity has been slower to follow, in part because of the complexity of shareholder-rights management and the tighter regulatory framework around stock trading venues. Galaxy’s GLXY tokenization and SharpLink’s planned Ethereum issuance are early data points showing that regulated, onchain public equity structures are possible when issuers, transfer agents and exchanges coordinate.
Superstate’s Direct Issuance Program attempts to add a missing piece to that puzzle: a standardized mechanism for public companies to raise fresh capital in tokenized form, directly from investors using the same stablecoin infrastructure that underpins much of today’s crypto economy.
If uptake is strong, it could pressure incumbent intermediaries — underwriters, brokers and custodians — to adapt their own offerings to 24/7, programmable settlement. If adoption is slow, it may highlight how far regulatory frameworks and market plumbing still have to evolve before blockchains can support more than a thin layer of tokenized wrappers on top of traditional securities.
For now, Superstate’s bet is that issuers and investors will increasingly expect capital markets to operate on the same instant, global rails that already move hundreds of billions of dollars in stablecoins each day.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were drafted with the assistance of AI tools and subsequently reviewed, edited, and verified by the author and our editorial team to ensure accuracy and journalistic integrity. The final version reflects human editorial judgment and fact-checking.
