First Public Company to Tokenize Its Equity, Securitize Merges Blockchain with Capital Markets

Securitize, a leading tokenization platform, is set to become a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq through a $1.25 billion SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners II, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) affiliated with Cantor Fitzgerald, according to LiveBitcoinNews. The deal, announced in late 2025, values the BlackRock-backed firm at a pre-money equity valuation of $1.25 billion and positions it to tokenize its own equity on a blockchain, a first for a public company, TradingView reported. The combined entity, to be renamed Securitize Corp., will trade under the ticker symbol "SECZ," Seeking Alpha reported.

The merger will generate $469 million in gross proceeds, including $225 million from a private investment in public equity (PIPE) and $244 million from Cantor Equity Partners II's trust account, Seeking Alpha reported. Existing institutional investors, including BlackRock, ARK Invest, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and Tradeweb Markets, will roll over 100% of their equity stakes into the new entity, according to LiveBitcoinNews. This influx of capital aims to accelerate Securitize's expansion in the real-world assets (RWA) tokenization market, which it estimates holds a $19 trillion total addressable market (TAM) across equities, fixed income, and alternative assets, TradingView reported.

Securitize, founded in 2017, has emerged as a key player in tokenizing traditional financial assets, including real estate, government bonds, and commodities, Cointelegraph reported. Its platform enables the issuance, trading, and servicing of tokenized securities while maintaining compliance with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. The firm has already tokenized over $4 billion in assets through partnerships with major institutions like BlackRock, Apollo, and KKR, according to LiveBitcoinNews. Notably, Securitize facilitated the launch of BlackRock's $2.8 billion USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), the largest tokenized RWA fund to date, Yahoo Finance reported.

CEO Carlos Domingo emphasized the merger's significance, calling it a "defining moment" for democratizing capital markets through blockchain technology, according to LiveBitcoinNews. "We founded this company to make financial markets operate at the speed of the internet," Domingo stated, highlighting Securitize's mission to tokenize the world's assets, Cointelegraph reported. Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman Howard Lutnick added that the deal underscores blockchain's "massive potential to transform finance," Cointelegraph added.

The SPAC route offers Securitize a faster path to public markets compared to a traditional IPO, especially as U.S. regulators and lawmakers increasingly engage with the crypto sector, Yahoo Finance reported. The company's vertically integrated model—holding SEC-registered entities as a transfer agent, broker-dealer, and fund administrator—strengthens its compliance profile, TradingView reported. However, the deal faces scrutiny amid ongoing debates over tokenized securities regulation. For instance, Ondo Finance recently urged the SEC to delay Nasdaq's proposal to trade tokenized assets, citing the need for clearer oversight, Cointelegraph reported.

Market analysts view the merger as a milestone for RWA adoption. With tokenized assets now exceeding $10 billion globally, Coinotag reported, Securitize's public listing could catalyze further institutional participation. The firm plans to tokenize its own shares, demonstrating how blockchain can streamline public company operations, according to LiveBitcoinNews. This move aligns with broader trends, such as Circle's June 2025 IPO, which signaled growing institutional confidence in crypto-native firms, Yahoo Finance reported.

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder votes, with a projected completion by early 2026, Blockchain Magazine reported. Post-merger, Securitize aims to leverage its public market status to expand its RWA offerings, including tokenized stocks and ETFs, Cointelegraph reported. With BlackRock's backing and a $1.25 billion valuation, the firm is poised to solidify its leadership in a sector projected to grow exponentially as blockchain technology reshapes capital markets, according to LiveBitcoinNews.