Investors around the world can now access U.S. stocks outside regular market hours, thanks to tokenized shares and self-custody wallets.
Platforms like Bitget Wallet allow users to buy fractions of companies such as Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia, trading them 24/7 without needing a broker or converting currencies.
According to Bitget Wallet’sCMO, Jamie Elkaleh, wallets are no longer just storage tools. They are turning into gateways to global markets, giving people in regions with little brokerage access a chance to invest in U.S. equities for the first time.
From Risky Experiments to Fully-Backed Tokenized Shares
The idea of bringing real-world assets onchain is not new. Projects like MakerDAO and synthetic equity platforms such as Mirror and Synthetix showed early potential. But they struggled with liquidity, unclear regulations, and trust issues.
The collapse of exchanges like FTX also exposed the weakness of those first stock token models.
Now, a new wave of platforms is trying to fix those problems. Unlike synthetic assets, today’s tokenized shares are backed directly by real securities, audited regularly, and structured to protect investors even in cases of bankruptcy. Market makers also provide liquidity tied to existing equity exchanges, creating a 24/7 version of brokerage trading.
Stablecoins Show the Way; Tokenized Stocks Follow
Elkaleh compares tokenized stocks to stablecoins. By moving the U.S. dollar onchain, stablecoins became the backbone of crypto trading, remittances, and DeFi.
Tokenized equities could follow the same path, exporting U.S. stocks into wallets worldwide. People could hold fractional shares of Apple, Tesla, or even dollar-based indices like the NASDAQ, trading them anytime, regardless of U.S. market hours.
For investors in countries with limited access to stock markets, this could be a game changer.
Wallets Are the New Brokers
Traditionally, U.S. equities were only accessible through brokers and regulated accounts. Now, digital wallets combine payments, savings, and investments in one place.
Real-world use case
A freelancer in Lagos or Manila, for example, could receive stablecoin payments, pay bills with a QR code, and invest leftover funds into tokenized U.S. equities within the same app.
This mirrors the leapfrog effect seen in mobile money adoption across Africa and Asia, where people skipped traditional banks and went straight to digital solutions.
Platforms leading this charge
Platforms like Bitget Wallet, in partnership with Ondo Finance, already offer trading for more than 100 tokenized U.S. equities with onchain settlement. Compared to derivatives or synthetic tokens on platforms like Bybit or Injective’s Helix, real-asset-backed tokenization focuses more on liquidity and investor security.
Related: Bitget Wallet Partners with MoonPay to Enable Stablecoin Withdrawals to Over 25 Fiat Currencies
Challenges Ahead
Despite the progress, hurdles remain. Liquidity is key, many early attempts failed because there weren’t enough buyers and sellers.
Regulation is another challenge. Different countries are still figuring out how to classify and tax tokenized securities. Education is also needed, since mainstream investors may be slower to adopt compared to crypto-native users.
Like stablecoins, adoption will grow gradually as trust and safeguards build up.
The Next Phase of Global Finance
The direction is becoming clear: digital assets, stablecoins, and tokenized equities are laying the groundwork for a borderless, always-on financial system.
While traditional Wall Street won’t disappear, the rhythm of global markets is changing. Wallets now make it possible for investors anywhere to access U.S. equities around the clock.
If stablecoins were the first step, tokenized equities could be the next big leap, moving from niche experiments into a core layer of global finance.
Platforms like Bitget Wallet are already showing how dollars, stocks, and digital assets can live in the same wallet, blurring the lines between traditional finance and crypto.
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