Securitize builds Wall Street credentials with SEC adviser license as tokenization expands

Securitize, a company specializing in tokenization of traditional assets on blockchain, has expanded its regulatory standing by registering its subsidiary, Securitize Capital, as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This new registration complements its existing regulated entities, which include a broker-dealer, alternative trading system, transfer agent, and fund administration services. The move aims to better position Securitize to collaborate with asset managers and institutional investors who are exploring onchain investment strategies, including tokenized vaults and other blockchain-based financial products.

The company’s growth in regulated infrastructure coincides with increasing SEC scrutiny on how securities laws apply to blockchain-based investment vehicles. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce recently noted that certain crypto vaults and lending strategies might fall under investment adviser regulations depending on their management and structure. Vaults are a rapidly growing decentralized finance (DeFi) product, enabling users to deposit cryptocurrencies into smart contracts that distribute capital automatically into various yield-generating strategies. These have attracted wider adoption beyond DeFi, with platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood offering yield on customer balances. According to Vaults.fyi data, curated vaults currently hold about $8.6 billion in assets.

Securitize has already developed infrastructure supporting tokenized vaults, such as permissioned lending vaults in partnership with Euler that enable tokenized assets—including VanEck’s VBILL fund—to be used as collateral while ensuring compliance with investor eligibility rules. The company has established itself as one of the largest providers of tokenization infrastructure, partnering with major asset managers such as BlackRock, Apollo, KKR, and VanEck. Among its products, Securitize issues BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized money market fund and collaborates with the New York Stock Exchange to develop systems for trading tokenized securities.

Securitize recently went public under the ticker SECZ, listing on the New York Stock Exchange earlier in the month. However, since the listing, its share price has declined by nearly 40% through July. The expanded SEC registration is seen as an important step for Securitize to operate within existing regulatory frameworks and to facilitate broader institutional adoption of blockchain-based investment vehicles.