In plain English: Tokenized stocks come in a few legal forms. Some are the real share; others are a claim or a note that tracks it.
Tokenized stocks fall into distinct legal models (Zerion):
- Debt security / certificate backed by shares (Robinhood, bStocks, xStocks).
- Beneficial claim on custodied shares (Coinbase B20; Securitize Stocks as security entitlements, convertible to registered shares).
- Issuer-sponsored shares recorded by a transfer agent (Securitize, Superstate Opening Bell).
- Blockchain-native equity (Figure FGRS).
- Same security, tokenized form inside the US market structure (Nasdaq / DTC pilot, SEC). Rights differ: backing does not automatically confer shareholder rights.
In the issuer-sponsored model the token is tied to the company’s official shareholder register, so voting, dividend and corporate-action rights carry over; wrapped and synthetic tokens only track the share. Most US shares sit in street name, registered to DTC’s nominee Cede & Co.; moving them into the holder’s own name runs through the Direct Registration System (DRS), which DTC has proposed to speed up “from days to minutes” (SEC notice). Since Sep 2026 the Issuer Sponsored Token Coalition has pushed this model (Bullish).