Mercado Bitcoin to Tokenize $200 Million in RWAs on XRPL
Mercado Bitcoin, one of Latin America’s leading crypto exchanges, announced it will tokenize $200 million in RWAs on the XRP Ledger. Boston Consulting Group estimates that the tokenized RWA market could hit $19 trillion by 2033.Meanwhile, Hong Kong is expanding its tokenized green bond program and refining its digital asset framework, including new rules for stablecoins and digital asset platforms. In the US, Robinhood’s plan to tokenize equities via its new Ethereum-compatible blockchain could disrupt Wall Street by moving trading on-chain and extending market access to 24/7.
Latin American Exchange Joins Tokenization Wave
Mercado Bitcoin, one of Latin America’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, announced on Friday that it will tokenize $200 million worth of real-world assets (RWAs) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). According to a joint announcement with Ripple, the tokenized assets will include a mix of fixed-income and equity financial instruments. This initiative is part of the trend in the crypto and financial sectors to digitize traditional assets through blockchain technology, despite ongoing regulatory uncertainty.
Press release from Ripple
A report by Boston Consulting Group and Ripple projected that the tokenized RWA market could reach a staggering $19 trillion in market capitalization by 2033, thanks to the strong institutional interest in the space. The move by Mercado Bitcoin comes at a time when crypto firms and asset managers are calling for clearer regulatory frameworks, particularly in the United States, to support the growth of tokenized equities and other digital representations of traditional financial assets.
RWA tokenization market overview (Source: RWA.xyz)
On the same day, Ondo Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, acquired Oasis Pro, a US-regulated alternative trading system. The goal of the acquisition is to strengthen Ondo's foothold in the RWA space by leveraging Oasis Pro's ability to settle digital securities in both fiat currency and stablecoins. Meanwhile, Centrifuge, a blockchain company specializing in RWAs, unveiled plans to tokenize the S&P 500 stock index, which could bring a major benchmark of the US equity market onto the blockchain.
Earlier this year, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink even urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to authorize the tokenization of stocks and bonds. However, there are still some major regulatory challenges in the way.
John Murillo, chief business officer at B2BROKER, warned that tokenized equity instruments currently exist in a regulatory grey area. Unlike traditional stocks, they may not offer direct claims on company assets, voting rights, or access to internal financial disclosures. He advised investors to thoroughly examine the specific terms of any tokenized RWA they consider, and pay very close attention to potential cash flows, dividend rights, legal protections, and smart contract-related risks.
Hong Kong Expands Tokenized Bond Strategy
Hong Kong is also moving to expand its tokenized bond program with a third batch of tokenized green bonds. This could mean that the government is planning to make such offerings a permanent part of its debt issuance strategy.
At the Hong Kong Digital Finance Awards 2025, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui pointed out that the upcoming tokenized bond sale builds on the momentum of two successful issuances in 2023 and 2024. These bonds were recorded and settled by using distributed ledger technology, and authorities are now exploring measures like stamp duty exemptions on tokenized exchange-traded funds to further incentivize adoption.
This initiative is part of Hong Kong’s broader digital asset push, as laid out in its newly released Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0. The government’s updated strategy places a lot of emphasis on the regulation of stablecoins and the promotion of asset tokenization under its “LEAP” framework, which focuses on legal clarity, ecosystem development, real-world use cases, and talent cultivation. As part of this plan, a licensing regime for stablecoin issuers will go into effect on August 1, to help encourage practical adoption of tokenized solutions.
Hong Kong’s ‘LEAP’ framework
At the same time, public consultations are underway for proposed licensing regulations governing digital asset trading platforms and custodians, with the consultation period set to close by the end of August. Additionally, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) launched the city's first digital asset indexes, offering institutional investors benchmark pricing for Bitcoin and Ethereum during Asian trading hours.
To help boost its digital finance ambitions even more, Hong Kong’s financial authorities recently announced plans to introduce digital asset derivatives trading targeted at professional investors. This follows a wave of regulatory progress, including the approval of spot cryptocurrency ETFs, futures contracts, and staking services. In April, licensed exchange HashKey was also cleared to offer staking.
To add to this, the region’s Legislative Council passed the Stablecoin Bill in May. This laid the regulatory foundation for a secure and structured environment for digital assets and Web3 innovation.
Tokenized Stocks Could Disrupt Wall Street
Robinhood’s plan to tokenize stocks through a new Ethereum-compatible blockchain, known as Robinhood Chain, could disrupt traditional financial markets by shifting trading activity away from legacy exchanges like the NYSE. At the EthCC conference, CEO Vlad Tenev introduced the project as a layer 2 blockchain built on Arbitrum Orbit that will allow users to trade tokenized derivatives of stocks directly on-chain.
The goal of this initiative is to provide near-instant settlement and extend trading hours to 24/5 initially, with plans for 24/7 trading in the future. By minting token wrappers tied to real equities held by a US broker-dealer, Robinhood will enable users to self-custody their assets or interact with decentralized applications.
Galaxy Digital shared in a report released Friday that Robinhood’s move brings assets on-chain, bypassing traditional markets and potentially undermining the liquidity dominance and revenue models of centralized exchanges. The architecture of Robinhood Chain resembles Coinbase’s Base, as it allows the company to control its own sequencer and capture transaction fees across its trading ecosystem. Galaxy estimates that Base earns over $150,000 in daily fees for Coinbase, a model Robinhood may replicate.
(Source: Galaxy Digital)
The benefits of tokenization extend beyond just expanded trading hours. Programmable assets could be used as collateral in DeFi applications or automate dividends. Galaxy warned that if established exchanges fail to adapt, they could be reduced to custodians of a less functional version of the same assets, losing relevance as traders migrate to more versatile blockchain-based platforms.
However, the model is not without challenges. Around-the-clock trading could increase volatility risks for retail investors by exposing them to unexpected price swings outside standard market hours. Regulatory uncertainty is another obstacle, as the SEC has yet to weigh in on Robinhood’s approach.
Currently, access to tokenized stock trading is limited to users in the European Union. Meanwhile, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) has already urged the SEC to reject trading of tokenized equities outside the current Regulation NMS framework.
Mercado Bitcoin to Tokenize $200 Million in RWAs on XRPL
Mercado Bitcoin, one of Latin America’s leading crypto exchanges, announced it will tokenize $200 million in RWAs on the XRP Ledger. Boston Consulting Group estimates that the tokenized RWA market could hit $19 trillion by 2033.Meanwhile, Hong Kong is expanding its tokenized green bond program and refining its digital asset framework, including new rules for stablecoins and digital asset platforms. In the US, Robinhood’s plan to tokenize equities via its new Ethereum-compatible blockchain could disrupt Wall Street by moving trading on-chain and extending market access to 24/7.
Latin American Exchange Joins Tokenization Wave
Mercado Bitcoin, one of Latin America’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, announced on Friday that it will tokenize $200 million worth of real-world assets (RWAs) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). According to a joint announcement with Ripple, the tokenized assets will include a mix of fixed-income and equity financial instruments. This initiative is part of the trend in the crypto and financial sectors to digitize traditional assets through blockchain technology, despite ongoing regulatory uncertainty.
Press release from Ripple
A report by Boston Consulting Group and Ripple projected that the tokenized RWA market could reach a staggering $19 trillion in market capitalization by 2033, thanks to the strong institutional interest in the space. The move by Mercado Bitcoin comes at a time when crypto firms and asset managers are calling for clearer regulatory frameworks, particularly in the United States, to support the growth of tokenized equities and other digital representations of traditional financial assets.
RWA tokenization market overview (Source: RWA.xyz)
On the same day, Ondo Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, acquired Oasis Pro, a US-regulated alternative trading system. The goal of the acquisition is to strengthen Ondo's foothold in the RWA space by leveraging Oasis Pro's ability to settle digital securities in both fiat currency and stablecoins. Meanwhile, Centrifuge, a blockchain company specializing in RWAs, unveiled plans to tokenize the S&P 500 stock index, which could bring a major benchmark of the US equity market onto the blockchain.
Earlier this year, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink even urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to authorize the tokenization of stocks and bonds. However, there are still some major regulatory challenges in the way.
John Murillo, chief business officer at B2BROKER, warned that tokenized equity instruments currently exist in a regulatory grey area. Unlike traditional stocks, they may not offer direct claims on company assets, voting rights, or access to internal financial disclosures. He advised investors to thoroughly examine the specific terms of any tokenized RWA they consider, and pay very close attention to potential cash flows, dividend rights, legal protections, and smart contract-related risks.
Hong Kong Expands Tokenized Bond Strategy
Hong Kong is also moving to expand its tokenized bond program with a third batch of tokenized green bonds. This could mean that the government is planning to make such offerings a permanent part of its debt issuance strategy.
At the Hong Kong Digital Finance Awards 2025, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui pointed out that the upcoming tokenized bond sale builds on the momentum of two successful issuances in 2023 and 2024. These bonds were recorded and settled by using distributed ledger technology, and authorities are now exploring measures like stamp duty exemptions on tokenized exchange-traded funds to further incentivize adoption.
This initiative is part of Hong Kong’s broader digital asset push, as laid out in its newly released Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0. The government’s updated strategy places a lot of emphasis on the regulation of stablecoins and the promotion of asset tokenization under its “LEAP” framework, which focuses on legal clarity, ecosystem development, real-world use cases, and talent cultivation. As part of this plan, a licensing regime for stablecoin issuers will go into effect on August 1, to help encourage practical adoption of tokenized solutions.
Hong Kong’s ‘LEAP’ framework
At the same time, public consultations are underway for proposed licensing regulations governing digital asset trading platforms and custodians, with the consultation period set to close by the end of August. Additionally, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) launched the city's first digital asset indexes, offering institutional investors benchmark pricing for Bitcoin and Ethereum during Asian trading hours.
To help boost its digital finance ambitions even more, Hong Kong’s financial authorities recently announced plans to introduce digital asset derivatives trading targeted at professional investors. This follows a wave of regulatory progress, including the approval of spot cryptocurrency ETFs, futures contracts, and staking services. In April, licensed exchange HashKey was also cleared to offer staking.
To add to this, the region’s Legislative Council passed the Stablecoin Bill in May. This laid the regulatory foundation for a secure and structured environment for digital assets and Web3 innovation.
Tokenized Stocks Could Disrupt Wall Street
Robinhood’s plan to tokenize stocks through a new Ethereum-compatible blockchain, known as Robinhood Chain, could disrupt traditional financial markets by shifting trading activity away from legacy exchanges like the NYSE. At the EthCC conference, CEO Vlad Tenev introduced the project as a layer 2 blockchain built on Arbitrum Orbit that will allow users to trade tokenized derivatives of stocks directly on-chain.
The goal of this initiative is to provide near-instant settlement and extend trading hours to 24/5 initially, with plans for 24/7 trading in the future. By minting token wrappers tied to real equities held by a US broker-dealer, Robinhood will enable users to self-custody their assets or interact with decentralized applications.
Galaxy Digital shared in a report released Friday that Robinhood’s move brings assets on-chain, bypassing traditional markets and potentially undermining the liquidity dominance and revenue models of centralized exchanges. The architecture of Robinhood Chain resembles Coinbase’s Base, as it allows the company to control its own sequencer and capture transaction fees across its trading ecosystem. Galaxy estimates that Base earns over $150,000 in daily fees for Coinbase, a model Robinhood may replicate.
(Source: Galaxy Digital)
The benefits of tokenization extend beyond just expanded trading hours. Programmable assets could be used as collateral in DeFi applications or automate dividends. Galaxy warned that if established exchanges fail to adapt, they could be reduced to custodians of a less functional version of the same assets, losing relevance as traders migrate to more versatile blockchain-based platforms.
However, the model is not without challenges. Around-the-clock trading could increase volatility risks for retail investors by exposing them to unexpected price swings outside standard market hours. Regulatory uncertainty is another obstacle, as the SEC has yet to weigh in on Robinhood’s approach.
Currently, access to tokenized stock trading is limited to users in the European Union. Meanwhile, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) has already urged the SEC to reject trading of tokenized equities outside the current Regulation NMS framework.