Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of Binance, has made a bold prediction about the future of capital markets, arguing that initial public offerings (IPOs) will eventually move on-chain as blockchain technology reshapes how financial assets are issued, traded, and settled.
In a statement on X, he wrote,
“IPOs will move on-chain.”
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His comments highlight a broader shift toward tokenized securities, where blockchain could make traditional fundraising and public-market participation faster, more transparent, and accessible to a global pool of investors.
While short on details or timelines, the prediction captures a broader shift already underway in finance the gradual migration of public capital raising and equity trading onto blockchain networks.
An initial public offering has long been a highly intermediated process involving investment banks, underwriters, lawyers, auditors, and traditional exchanges.
Moving IPOs on-chain would mean issuing shares as digital tokens from the start, enabling direct distribution, ownership tracking, and trading on blockchain infrastructure.
Potential advantages include 24/7 markets without opening or closing bells, native fractional ownership that lowers barriers for retail investors, faster settlement, greater transparency through immutable records, and reduced costs by cutting out some middlemen.
Global retail participation could begin on day one rather than being limited largely to institutions in the early stages of a traditional listing.
The infrastructure supporting this vision is no longer purely theoretical. Tokenized stocks currently represent roughly $2.9 billion in on-chain value according to data from RWA.xyz, a figure that has risen about 14% in the past month.
Platforms such as Binance’s bStocks have seen substantial trading activity, with cumulative volumes reported in the tens of billions in recent months.
In Europe, France’s ST Group completed a fully tokenized IPO in April 2026 through the Lightning Stock Exchange (Lise), raising €2.07 million under the EU’s Distributed Ledger Technology Pilot Regime.
The offering involved 113,525 newly issued ordinary shares, with the shares represented as tokenized securities recorded on distributed-ledger infrastructure. Investors subscribed for approximately €2.0718 million worth of shares, equivalent to 79.42% of the initially targeted capital increase.
This is widely cited as one of the first real-world examples of an on-chain public offering. Regulatory developments are also advancing. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has indicated that tokenizing securities does not remove core requirements around registration, disclosure, and investor protection.
Recent proposals address transfer-agent rules to better accommodate blockchain-based ownership records and share transfers. Major exchanges including Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have established frameworks or pilots allowing eligible tokenized securities to trade alongside conventional ones.
Firms such as Securitize (which partners with institutions like BlackRock) and others are building the operational plumbing for on-chain issuance and custody while remaining within existing securities laws.
Investor demand for earlier and broader access is another driving force. Pre-IPO and tokenized equity products have attracted notable volume, particularly from emerging markets, reflecting frustration with traditional processes that often limit retail participation until after the opening bell.
On-chain structures could address this by offering continuous liquidity and easier fractional entry. However, challenges remain significant. Not every tokenized stock product grants true legal ownership or the same rights as traditional shares—structures vary widely and some are more synthetic.
Liquidity for newer on-chain listings may lag behind established exchanges, at least initially. Regulatory clarity continues to evolve across jurisdictions, and questions around custody, compliance, voting rights, and investor protections must be resolved at scale.
Tokenized equities still represent a tiny fraction of the overall stock market, which is measured in the tens of trillions of dollars. CZ’s comment is best read as a directional forecast rather than a product announcement or specific timeline.
It arrives at a moment when the building blocks tokenized equity markets, regulatory pilots, institutional partnerships, and real issuance examples are already in place and expanding.
Whether full-scale on-chain IPOs become the dominant model or simply an important alternative will depend on how effectively the industry and regulators address the remaining legal, operational, and liquidity hurdles.
For now, the trajectory is clear, public markets are increasingly experimenting with blockchain rails, and CZ’s prediction reflects that momentum.