According to Woofun AI, CNBC's ETF Edge section recently focused on the potential of tokenized stocks to reshape Wall Street infrastructure. Nick Cheney, head of innovation at Janus Henderson (JHG.US), and Gabor Goulbax, founder and CEO of Openassets, pointed out that the technology is expected to replace most existing trading systems, despite differences between the two sides over the speed of adoption. The core dispute is the actual pace of implementation and market acceptance after regulatory authorization.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission issued instructions on September 17 to allow blockchain-based trading platforms to trade tokenized versions of listed US stocks without registering as an exchange. The temporary measure is valid for five years, limits the scope of transaction participants and sets an upper limit on transaction volume. At the same time, tokens are required to have the same rights as traditional stocks, and issuers can raise objections to tokens created by external agencies.
According to data compiled by Woofun AI, Janus Henderson's most successful tokenized fund is between US$500 million and US$1 billion, while its flagship ETF manages about US$30 billion in assets; in comparison, the total size of global ETFs is about US$24 trillion, and the size of tokenized assets is less than US$500 billion, which is a significant gap.
Cheney believes that the scope of application of the instructions is limited, and the focus is on the transaction infrastructure level. Gulbucks stressed that currently it is necessary to go through about nine intermediary institutions to buy shares, and tokenization technology can eliminate six to seven of them. The new transfer agent rules make this change possible.
Despite changes in settlement processes and costs, the investor operation process is still similar, and the existing brokerage business model can transition to a blockchain platform. Cheney pointed out that the US market is quite efficient; cost savings alone are not enough to drive popularity; new application scenarios such as using S&P 500 funds (SPY.US) to pay rent need to be explored.
Tokenized stocks replacing traditional systems are seen as an inevitable trend, but will be realized in stages. The five-year transition period is a critical observation window that determines whether US investors will follow in the footsteps of the approximately 200 institutions that have already used Janus Henderson tokenized funds. This process not only tests technical compatibility, but also depends on the collaborative evolution of regulatory frameworks and market requirements.