Abu Dhabi Approves Crypto Stocks – But Who’s Counting?

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Finance

What to know:

  • Abu Dhabi Global Market’s regulator approved Ondo Finance’s tokenized stocks and ETFs on Binance’s regulated trading venue. A triumph of bureaucracy, where paper becomes digital, and dreams are encrypted.
  • This is the first time the ADGM approved tokenized securities trading under the its regulatory framework, allowing institutions to deal in digital equities. A milestone so monumental, it’s almost as if someone finally figured out how to sell a goat in a blockchain.
  • Ondo, which structures its products as equity-linked notes and has processed more than $11 billion in trading volume, is part of a broader push to put traditional equities on blockchains, a market now valued at over $1 billion. Because nothing says “innovation” like turning stocks into digital confetti.

Binance’s renewed push into tokenized stocks gained regulatory backing Tuesday as the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) approved trading of Ondo Finance’s tokenized equities on the exchange’s regulated platform. A bureaucratic masquerade where the only thing more volatile than the market is the paperwork.

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM cleared Ondo Global Markets’ tokenized stocks and ETFs to trade on Binance’s FSRA-regulated Multilateral Trading Facility, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk. The listing includes tokenized versions of Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Circle, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla and the Invesco QQQ ETF. For non-U.S. users, of course-because why let Americans partake in the chaos?

This is the first time the ADGM approved tokenized securities trading under the its regulatory framework, allowing UAE-based financial institutions, intermediaries, and counterparties deal in token versions of equities, Ondo said. A golden age of finance, where even your shares are now a blockchain’s pet.

“Through offering Ondo tokenized stocks for trading on Binance, we are expanding access to hundreds of millions of investors,” Ian de Bode, president of Ondo Finance, said in a statement. A statement so grand, it’s almost believable.

The approval gives Binance a regulated venue to trade tokenized equities, nearly five years after it shut down a similar service following scrutiny from U.K. and German regulators. Because nothing says “reform” like a brief hiatus to avoid being the center of a scandal.

Tokenized stocks have drawn interest from crypto exchanges such as Kraken, brokerages like Robinhood and traditional market operators like Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. The market’s total value has surpassed $1 billion, RWA.xyz data shows. A billion dollars in a world where a chicken can be a cryptocurrency.

Supporters argue that putting equities on blockchain rails can widen investor access and allow the assets to move across trading and lending platforms more easily, linking stock markets with decentralized finance. Because nothing says “democracy” like letting your shares dance on a ledger.

Ondo structures its products as equity-linked notes tied to the underlying shares. The firm says it has processed more than $11 billion in cumulative trading volume with over $600 million in total value locked since launching its offering less than six months ago. A financial miracle, if you ignore the fact that it’s all just code and hope.

Last year, Ondo secured approval for its base securities prospectus in the European Union, allowing public distribution across the European Union. Because nothing says “trust” like a EU stamp on a digital asset.

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2026-03-03 17:04