Formation Securities intends to run the initial Solana-powered tokenized equity marketplace pursuant to the SEC’s innovation exemption.
Digital asset institution Galaxy Digital, Solana treasury entity Forward Industries, and crypto wallet Exodus have already indicated their backing to list their tokenized equities for trading, leveraging trading software licensed from the decentralized exchange Orca.
Formation stands as the fourth enterprise disclosing intentions to establish a marketplace under the regulatory framework of the SEC, succeeding OKXICE, Canton-based TSV LLC, and Perpetuals.com.
The Solana network is welcoming its inaugural tokenized equity trading platform beneath the SEC’s innovation exemption, with three publicly traded entities already prepared to engage.
Formation Securities informed CoinDesk that it notified the commission regarding its strategy to run a tokenized securities venue, with exchange operations projected to launch early in 2027.
The opening roster for tokenized equity exchange encompasses Galaxy Digital, Exodus Movement, and Forward Industries, the organization reported.
Formation acts as the newest entity to reveal plans for a tokenized stock platform under the SEC innovation exemption, following OKXICE—the joint enterprise involving NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange alongside digital asset exchange OKX—alongside Canton-based TSV LLC and Perpetuals.com.
The five-year regulatory structure permits approved platforms to test trading tokenized domestic equities via automated market makers, which are software systems executing trades against asset pools rather than depending on conventional order books. Participation is restricted to verified investors, accompanied by caps on trading volume and the total securities made available.
Solana functions already as a primary center for tokenized stock exchange. It places third behind Ethereum and BNB Chain concerning the capitalization of equity tokens, representing roughly $570 million of the $3.8 billion market, based on metrics provided by RWA.xyz. Furthermore, it represented the most active blockchain regarding trading volume, with exceeding $7 billion in tokenized equities changing hands over the preceding week.
A significant portion of that volume, nonetheless, entails synthetic equity tokens, which are derivative instruments delivering exposure to share valuations lacking identical ownership and shareholder privileges associated with the underlying equities.
Starting with willing issuers
Beneath the regulations of the SEC, corporations possess a 30-day window to halt trading of their shares when tokenized by an independent third party.
OKXICE acted as the pioneer to evaluate this rule throughout the past month, confronting a wave of pushback from the corporations whose shares it attempted to exchange. Out of the 62 enterprises initially selected by OKXICE, nearly 90% had raised objections as of Friday, according to CoinDesk tracking, which included Apple, Microsoft, and Meta among those that declined the initiatives.
Formation selected an alternative strategy, obtaining the backing of its initial three issuers prior to publicly disclosing the marketplace, as stated by Christopher Montagano, the enterprise’s president, during an interview with CoinDesk.
The venue’s introductory lineup comprises corporations already acquainted with tokenization. Galaxy and Forward Industries tokenized shares are featured on Superstate’s Opening Bell platform, while Exodus represented one of the initial enterprises to release its shares in a tokenized format via Securitize.
Onchain equities remain in early stages, but the innovation exemption from the SEC delivers a considered and regulated avenue to examine what we anticipate will evolve into a substantial sector of domestic capital markets, expressed Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, within an official statement.
Investors would be capable of maintaining the shares within their personal digital wallets and exchanging them continuously utilizing stablecoins, with operations settling immediately onchain. The tokens would maintain equivalent shareholder entitlements as traditional equities, encompassing voting rights and dividends, as mandated by the SEC requirements.
Formation intends to broaden its lineup via direct outreach directed at public corporations throughout the upcoming two months, Montagano conveyed to CoinDesk, positioning the platform as an auxiliary distribution channel capable of attracting novel investors outside conventional stock exchanges.
An open marketplace
Formation additionally seeks to incorporate competing tokenization service providers onto the identical trading infrastructure, Montagano noted.
Both Superstate and Securitize are anticipated to supply tokenized shares available on the marketplace, whereas custody providers Anchorage Digital, BitGo, and Fireblocks will assist investors in accessing the market, based on the press release. Additional distribution allies feature Alpaca, CoinList, Solflare, Squads, and Jito’s JTX trading interface.
Formation plans to license trading software from Orca, a Solana-grounded decentralized exchange protocol. Montagano previously functioned as chief legal officer for Orca.
We are not sitting and cherry picking winners, Montagano informed CoinDesk, characterizing the choice to engage competing suppliers rather than depending on a singular corporation to manage tokenization, custody, and exchange.
The broader vision is to demonstrate that blockchain-powered exchange can rival conventional platforms regarding expenses and operational efficiency.
Montagano noted that the enterprise aims to construct a marketplace that can be competitive with Nasdaq from a spreads perspective, from an efficiency perspective.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/11/06/solana-lset-for-its-first-tokenized-stock-venue-under-sec-framework-listing-galaxy.
