Formation Securities Targets Early 2027 Launch for Solana-Based Tokenized Stock Venue

Formation Securities plans to launch a tokenized stock trading venue on Solana in early 2027, operating under the SEC's Innovation Exemption introduced in September. The exemption allows qualifying venues to run secondary trading of tokenized securities through permissioned automated market maker liquidity pools, subject to regulatory conditions.

The platform will record transactions directly on the Solana blockchain rather than routing trades and settlement through conventional financial intermediaries. Investors will hold tokenized securities in digital wallets, with transactions designed to settle immediately and simultaneously onchain.

What does Formation's model change operationally?

Formation says its structure preserves companies' relationships with their shareholders, with transfer agents continuing to maintain official ownership records. That design point matters: it separates the trading and settlement layer, which moves onchain, from the official register of who owns what, which stays with traditional infrastructure.

"Tokenized stocks will succeed only if public companies see the value in them, and we intend to build this market together with issuers," Formation Securities President Christopher Montagano said in a statement.

The company has lined up an extensive distribution network. Named partners include Alpaca, Passage by CoinList, Anchorage Digital, BitGo, Fireblocks, Solflare, Squads, and Jito's JTX trading interface. Participation will be restricted to verified investors.

Formation cited Solana's transaction speeds, low fees and existing tokenization infrastructure as reasons for the chain choice. The company noted that Solana already supports more than $5 billion in tokenized real-world assets.

Why is issuer cooperation the central battleground?

Formation's issuer-first pitch is a deliberate contrast with OKXICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange. OKXICE plans to operate under the same SEC exemption, using permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on OKX's X Layer blockchain, but its strategy of targeting a broad selection of major American stocks has run into substantial resistance.

Sixty-seven companies have objected to OKXICE's plans to offer tokenized versions of U.S. stocks, as Bitcoin.com News recently reported. The latest objectors include Meta, Palantir, S&P Global, KLA and Super Micro Computer, joining earlier holdouts such as Apple, Boeing, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla and JPMorgan Chase. The objections have left OKXICE with predominantly cryptocurrency-linked companies among its original targets that have not opted out.

Formation's approach — building the market jointly with issuers rather than tokenizing first and asking later — is its answer to that corporate resistance. The company said its planned launch remains subject to applicable regulatory requirements.

Who else is moving into tokenized securities?

Formation is entering a field where large institutions are already staking positions. Nasdaq has announced plans for a tokenized securities venue in 2027 through its partnership with Payward, the parent of Kraken. Morgan Stanley recently disclosed its participation in the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation's new tokenization service for traditional financial assets.

Formation's proposed venue also builds on Project Open, an initiative submitted to the SEC in April 2025 by a coalition that included Orca, Superstate and the Solana Policy Institute.

With an anticipated early 2027 debut, Formation is betting that Solana can become a trading network for regulated U.S. securities. Whether issuers sign on, and whether the SEC's Innovation Exemption conditions hold through the review window, will determine if the venue opens on schedule.