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The pieces are all in place
Brett Redfearn has watched markets transform before. Decades ago, he was on the floor of the American Stock Exchange (today known as NYSE American) when traders in colored shirts were shooting messages through pneumatic tubes. He then watched electronic trading gut that entire system.
Redfearn was the director of the U.S. SEC's trading and markets division and spent 13 years at JPMorgan Chase. Today, as president of Securitize, he thinks the future of tokenization and onchain finance may dwarf all that came before.
"We haven't seen anything like it for 20 years," Redfearn said on StrataMedia’s Talking Tokens podcast. "Electronic trading was super transformative, but what's happening now really has the potential of bringing our markets to another, better place."
Securitize hit a milestone last week on its path to the public markets: the SEC has approved its registration statement that clears the way for its proposed SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners II, a blank check company backed by Cantor Fitzgerald. The move puts Securitize on track to go public even as other crypto firms like Kraken, Ledger, Consensys and Grayscale have paused their listing plans amid a volatile stock market.
"The pieces are all in place," Redfearn said. "The regulatory environment has really changed in a way where we're getting the clarity we need to build. The institutions are ready to truly build on tokenization.”
The numbers back those statements. Securitize in Q1 2026 reported its highest quarterly revenue in its history, clocking top line of $19.5 million, up 39% from a year earlier. The company currently has more than $4 billion in tokenized assets under management, including BlackRock’s BUIDL fund.
"Securitize at one point was looking at some smaller assets, smaller stocks and things like that. But one of the beautiful things about BlackRock is it's just such a major financial institution. When we think about big financial institutions, big investment banks, large companies, it's coming, but it's coming in size."
In Redfearn's framework, treasuries were just one stage in a progression that's been building from the beginning. Stablecoins came first, tokenizing cash, followed by treasuries. Then companies looked to tokenize private credit and private equity, where Securitize worked with KKR, Hamilton Lane, and VanEck.
"Tokenized stocks are next. So everybody now is looking at how they can tokenize stocks. What is the best model for doing it? How is the SEC going to unlock that?"
Redfearn hinted that when a few specific major issuers move, the domino effect will be decisive, though he wouldn’t name any of these companies. "It's going to wake up a lot of other companies and participants in the market. They're going to be like: okay, we've got to be part of this."
Redfearn laid out a concrete near-term vision for tokenized IPOs. Securitize recently received FINRA approval to participate in selling groups, which makes the pitch practical rather than theoretical.
"It used to be that IPOs only went to institutional investors, and then gradually it got to the point where, you know what, why don't we give 10% to retail. Now, I think what we're gonna see, literally within the next year or two, is, we're going to give 5% to an onchain investor base, and we are going to tokenize part of that."
Check out the next section for more details and the full episode.
The latest Talking Tokens podcast 🎙️
For today’s episode, I interviewed Brett Redfearn, President of Securitize and former SEC Director of Trading and Markets, to trace how tokenization has evolved from floor-based trading rooms to onchain capital markets. Brett explains why he thinks we're entering the most transformative market structure shift in 20 years, why tokenized stocks might be the next major frontier, what the SEC's expected innovation exemption could unlock, and why there are conversations happening right now with bulge bracket banks about bringing tokenized IPOs to onchain investors within the next year or two.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Understanding Tokenization
02:44 The Evolution of Capital Markets
05:09 Regulatory Landscape and Innovation
09:11 Institutional Adoption of Tokenization
13:22 Brett's Transition to Leadership at Securitize
16:15 Growth Opportunities for Securitize
20:12 Advice for Traditional Firms Entering Digital Assets
21:56 The Importance of Networking in Crypto Events
24:26 The Shift of Tokenization from Disruption to Integration
27:09 Bridging Traditional Finance and Blockchain
30:07 Understanding the Landscape of Tokenization
32:33 The Future of Tokenized Assets
39:42 Regulatory Perspectives on Tokenization
42:47 Envisioning the Future of Tokenization
Talking Tokens episodes are released on Spotify and Apple Podcasts at 6AM EST or YouTube at 8AM EST every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen in!
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Please note this content is for informational and educational purposes only. Any views shared should not be considered financial advice, nor should it be used to make investment decisions. Cryptocurrencies are high risk and you should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions. Make sure you do your own research. We may have a direct or indirect financial interest in content mentioned in this newsletter.