The tokenized stock market reached $13.4 billion in combined value by September 1, 2026. It is growing at a rate that makes it one of the fastest-expanding segments of the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market. It is also using the same vocabulary — "tokenized stock," "stock token," "on-chain equity" — for products that are legally and structurally very different from each other.
The AMC versus Robinhood fight brought this into public view. But the definitional problem is broader than one dispute between one chief executive and one brokerage. Understanding what you actually own when you buy a tokenized stock requires mapping the full spectrum of what is currently being sold under that name.
The Spectrum — Four Distinct Products
At one end: actual equity ownership with full investor protections, recorded on blockchain rather than on a centralized database. At the other end: a price-tracking instrument issued by a third party with no legal connection to the underlying company, no shareholder rights, and no US regulatory registration. Between those ends: two intermediate models that have their own distinct characteristics.
You own the actual share. The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) holds it in its central depository. The blockchain record is the authoritative ownership record, but it sits within the existing legal framework for US securities. You have voting rights, dividend entitlements, and all standard shareholder protections. The December 2025 SEC No-Action Letter confirms that the existing legal rights are fully preserved. This is the gold standard of tokenized equity. It is what the DTCC's October 2026 launch delivers for Russell 1000 stocks, major exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and benchmark Treasuries.
A company or fund manager works with a licensed tokenization platform to issue a blockchain-based representation of its equity or fund interests. Securitize's work with BlackRock's BUIDL fund is the primary example: BUIDL tokens represent fractional ownership of the fund's portfolio, issued by BlackRock, managed by Securitize as transfer agent, regulated under existing US securities law (Regulation D, Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act of 1940). Investor protections exist within the fund's legal structure. Access requires KYC (know your customer) verification and qualification. The $5 million minimum for BUIDL excludes retail.
A third-party platform purchases the underlying stock in a regulated brokerage account, then issues a token that tracks the stock's price and distributes any dividends. The underlying stock is real and held in custody. The token holder's rights flow through the platform rather than directly as a shareholder. This is similar to how American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) work — a bank holds foreign shares and issues receipts that trade in the US market. Platforms like Payward's xStocks use this model for international distribution. The token holder gets real economic exposure with the platform as intermediary.
A third-party entity issues a debt instrument that tracks a stock's price. No underlying shares are necessarily held. No shareholder rights pass to the token holder. No registration under US securities law. Cannot be offered to US persons. Issued in an offshore jurisdiction specifically to avoid US regulatory requirements. This is what Robinhood's Stock Tokens are, by their own disclosures: Jersey-issued debt securities with AMC price exposure. The token holder has a claim against Robinhood's Jersey entity — not against AMC, not as a shareholder, not with any of the protections US securities law provides.
Why the Naming Problem Matters
When a retail investor reads that the tokenized stock market has reached $13.4 billion and is growing rapidly, they may reasonably assume that "tokenized stock" means something like Level 1 or Level 2 — actual ownership of equity, in a digital form. The reality is that a significant portion of the $13.4 billion is Level 3 and Level 4 instruments that provide price exposure without legal ownership.
This is not inherently fraudulent. Level 3 and Level 4 instruments serve real purposes — they allow international investors to access US equity price exposure in ways that their local regulatory frameworks may not otherwise permit. The problem is nomenclature. Calling a Jersey-issued debt instrument a "tokenized stock" sets an expectation that the product does not fulfill.
CoinShares stated it plainly: "The market has not settled whether a claim on a share price and the share itself should trade under the same name." The AMC versus Robinhood fight is the public consequence of that unsettled question becoming commercially significant at scale.
What Comes Next
The DTCC October 2026 launch will add the most robust and legally clear tokenized equity infrastructure to the market — Level 1, full investor protections, within existing US securities law. As that infrastructure scales across 4,000+ institutional participants, the definition of "properly tokenized" equity will have a clear institutional anchor.
Regulation Crypto Assets, the SEC's administrative rulemaking with a comment deadline of October 20, 2026, is expected to address how different types of tokenized equity instruments are classified. Whether that guidance reaches Level 4 offshore instruments is one of the open questions in the comment process.
The market will eventually require consistent nomenclature. A Level 1 token and a Level 4 token are not the same product. Selling them both as "tokenized stock" will not survive regulatory and investor scrutiny as the market matures.
→ The AMC vs. Robinhood Fight — how the naming problem became a public dispute
→ DTCC October — Level 1 tokenized equity at institutional scale
→ Tokenized Stocks 2026 — the full market context