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Crypto.com just made a serious push into traditional finance. The exchange is rolling out tokenized derivatives that track 1,500 U.S. equities and ETFs — a move that puts it squarely in the middle of one of the fastest-growing corners of the market right now.
Eligible users across the European Economic Area and other specified markets can trade positions starting at just $1, around the clock. The lineup includes some of the biggest names on Wall Street — Apple, Nvidia, Tesla — plus ETF products like SPDR Gold Shares and iShares Silver Trust. The products are issued by Foris Capital CY Limited, and supporting assets sit with U.S. broker-dealer Alpaca. Users get synthetic exposure to price movements, which is worth spelling out clearly: you don’t own the underlying shares, and you won’t get voting rights. Dividend-equivalent adjustments might be provided, but that’s not guaranteed.
No shareholder rights. Full stop.
The Foris Acquisition Unlocked This
None of this would be possible without Crypto.com’s acquisition of Foris Capital back in May 2025. That deal handed the exchange a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive license — MiFID, in industry shorthand — which is basically the regulatory passport needed to offer these kinds of products legally across Europe. Without it, the whole thing doesn’t happen.
Crypto.com ranks as the world’s 11th largest exchange. That’s not a small player dabbling in something new. The exchange is betting that its existing user base, combined with 24/7 availability and low entry points, can pull in retail traders who want stock exposure without opening a traditional brokerage account. It’s a pretty clear value proposition, even if the synthetic structure comes with its own set of trade-offs.
The tokenized stock market has hit $2.49 billion in total value. That’s a 600% jump over the past year — a number that would’ve sounded absurd not long ago. Citi has put a longer-term figure on the table: tokenized securities could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030. That’s a projection, not a guarantee, but it’s the kind of number that gets boardrooms paying attention.
Crypto.com Isn’t Alone Here
Kraken, Bybit, and Robinhood have all launched tokenized equity products aimed at non-U.S. investors. Bitget has done the same. The pattern is pretty consistent — platforms are targeting international retail traders who can’t easily access U.S. stocks through conventional channels. Blockchain rails make that access cheaper and faster, at least in theory.
But it’s not just exchanges moving here. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation — the DTCC, which sits at the core of U.S. securities settlement — has started testing tokenized securities infrastructure. That’s a meaningful signal. When the plumbing of traditional finance starts experimenting with this stuff, it’s not a fringe development anymore.
Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have both announced tokenization initiatives of their own. The details on those are still murky, but the direction is clear.
One thing that’s getting more attention as the market grows: not all tokenized equity products work the same way. Some, like Crypto.com’s new offerings, provide synthetic exposure — you’re tracking price, not holding a claim on actual shares. Others are issuer-sponsored models where real shares get placed on-chain, preserving ownership and shareholder rights. The distinction matters, and regulators seem to be waking up to it. Which model wins out probably depends as much on regulatory pressure as it does on user demand.
The question of synthetic versus issuer-sponsored structures is going to be a real fight. Synthetic products are easier to launch and scale globally, but they carry counterparty risk and strip out ownership rights. Issuer-sponsored models are closer to the real thing but harder to build and more expensive to run. There’s no obvious winner yet.
What’s clear is that the convergence between crypto infrastructure and traditional equities isn’t slowing down. Exchanges that built their names on Bitcoin and Ethereum are now chasing stock traders. Traditional market infrastructure players are testing blockchain rails. And somewhere in the middle, retail investors in Europe and Asia are getting access to U.S. equity exposure for a dollar a trade, 24 hours a day.
Crypto.com’s product suite covers 1,500 names. That’s a wide net.
Frequently Asked Questions
What assets can users trade through Crypto.com’s new tokenized derivatives?
Users can access tokenized derivatives tracking 1,500 U.S. equities and ETFs, including Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, SPDR Gold Shares, and iShares Silver Trust, with positions starting at $1.
Does Crypto.com’s tokenized stock product give users shareholder rights?
No. The products offer synthetic exposure to price movements only. Users don’t acquire ownership or shareholder rights, though dividend-equivalent adjustments might be provided.
