Cantor and Securitize Bring IPOs Onchain

Cantor is handling the capital markets side, while Securitize is supplying the tokenization infrastructure for issuing and distributing digital securities. The move lines up with broader efforts from DTCC, JPMorgan, and BlackRock.

Key Takeaways

• Cantor Fitzgerald and Securitize want to bring tokenization and blockchain technology into IPOs.
• Under the partnership, public companies could raise capital and issue securities onchain while still working within the existing capital markets framework.
• The deal reflects a broader trend as major financial firms move to tokenize stocks and securities.

Investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald and crypto broker-dealer Securitize are joining forces to bring tokenization and blockchain technology into initial public offerings. The goal is to give public companies a way to raise capital and issue securities onchain without stepping outside the traditional capital markets system.

What the Deal Includes

Per the companies, Cantor will handle the equity capital markets and trading side of the business, while Securitize will provide the infrastructure needed to issue, distribute, and service tokenized securities. In practice, that pushes blockchain beyond secondary trading and funds and into the IPO process itself, along with later follow-on offerings.

The structure is issuer-sponsored, meaning the token stands for the actual security rather than a wrapper, SPV, or synthetic version of the asset. In other words, tokenization becomes part of the issuance process instead of something added on after the fact. Securitize has already built a reputation in tokenized real-world assets and was also included this year in the 2026 Forbes Top 50 Fintech list.

A Broader Market Pattern

The partnership also fits into a larger push by major financial firms to tokenize capital markets. Earlier this week, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation said it was moving ahead with additional plans to tokenize stocks alongside partners including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and Vanguard. For crypto, that is another sign that blockchain is being woven into the plumbing of traditional securities, not just used for standalone crypto products.

Cantor Fitzgerald is far from a niche player in this space. The firm has more than 14,000 employees and works across investment banking, asset and investment management, and capital markets. That kind of scale matters if tokenized securities are going to move beyond pilot programs and into the same issuance and distribution channels used by established markets.

The market is also showing more interest in real securities than in isolated crypto structures. In that context, the partnership with tokenized stocks is a clear example of how broker-dealers and infrastructure providers are trying to build out that market.

Why It Matters

For European crypto readers, the main point is that tokenization here is being presented less as a fund niche and more as a potential building block for primary markets. If more large firms adopt this model, it could bring digital securities and onchain settlement deeper into the mainstream capital markets debate. Even so, the real-world impact will still depend on existing rules around issuance, distribution, and ownership, which means the outcome can look different from one market to another.