Investors could misunderstand tokenized stocks: EU markets watchdog

ESMA’s Natasha Cazenave says tokenized stocks could lead to “investor misunderstanding,” but the regulator is still keen to support the technology.

Crypto tokens tied to the value of stocks could mislead investors as they don’t usually give holders the same rights as a direct shareholder, says the European Union’s markets regulator.

Several companies have tokenized stocks and derivatives that are backed by the shares they represent held in a special purpose company, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) executive director Natasha Cazenave said at a conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia on Monday.

“These tokenized instruments can provide always-on access and fractionalisation but typically do not confer shareholder rights,” she said. 

Read more