Financial institutions expand use of blockchain and tokenization

Traditional finance and cryptocurrency sectors are increasingly converging through the use of blockchain technology for asset tokenization and payment infrastructure.

Binance is deepening its relationship with Circle through a reported $100 million investment and a five-year commercial agreement aimed at expanding the use of the USDC stablecoin on its exchange. Meanwhile, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Blockchain.com are planning a regulatory-reviewed alternative trading system to offer tokenized US stocks and ETFs to crypto users. In Canada, the country’s six largest banks are exploring tokenized Canadian dollar deposits to create programmable payment rails.

In the investment sector, ARK Invest has partnered with Securitize to tokenize its ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) on the Ethereum blockchain. The fund, which holds approximately $1.3 billion in net assets and invests in companies like OpenAI and Stripe, will use Ethereum as a settlement and ownership layer. This move reflects a broader trend of using blockchain infrastructure to record ownership and streamline the distribution of traditional financial instruments.