Formation Securities has notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of its intent to operate a tokenized securities venue on the Solana blockchain. The filing utilizes the agency’s Innovation Exemption, a conditional relief framework issued in September that permits eligible tokenized stocks to trade through permissioned automated market maker pools.
The company expects trading to begin in early 2027. Initial listings are anticipated to include tokenized shares of Exodus Movement, Forward Industries, and Galaxy Digital. Formation stated that the venue will provide 24/7 market access and near-instant atomic settlement while maintaining standard shareholder voting and dividend rights.
Operational Structure and Access
Under the exemption, each trade must settle atomically onchain to mitigate settlement risk, and tokens must carry identical economic and governance rights to traditional shares. A company’s transfer agent will continue to hold the official shareholder record, while every transaction posts to the public ledger in real time.
Access to the platform will be restricted to verified investors. Participants can connect through Formation’s direct platform or via distributors including Alpaca, CoinList’s Passage, custodians Anchorage, BitGo, and Fireblocks, as well as wallet providers Solflare and Squads.
Technology and Partnerships
Formation Securities licenses its trading technology from Orca, a decentralized exchange native to Solana. The company cited Solana’s speed, low transaction costs, and existing track record with tokenized assets as primary reasons for selecting the network, noting that Solana hosts more than $5 billion in tokenized real-world assets.
Tokenization firms Securitize and Superstate are expected to supply the tokenized shares for the venue. Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, stated that its tokens are each backed by a real share held by its broker-dealer. The initiative builds on Project Open, a proposal submitted to the SEC in 2025 by a coalition that included Orca, Superstate, and the Solana Policy Institute.
Christopher Montagano, president of Formation Securities, emphasized the necessity of issuer participation. “Tokenized stocks will succeed only if public companies see the value in them, and we intend to build this market together with issuers,” Montagano said.
Market Context
The announcement adds to a growing list of institutions exploring blockchain-based equity trading. The New York Stock Exchange recently selected Avalanche, a Solana rival, to settle its own planned tokenized securities platform. Securitize has already launched tokenized stocks on Solana, and a joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange is also in development, though major technology stocks have reportedly opted out of that specific initiative.
