Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, stated that the volume of tokenized equities is set to rise significantly. This prediction follows the introduction of the SEC’s Innovation Exemption, a five-year regulatory framework that permits the onchain trading of tokenized US stocks.
Tokenized equity represents stock ownership as a digital token on a blockchain, allowing for real-time trade settlement. Nazarov noted that this transition is essential for maintaining the global leadership of the US equities market by improving infrastructure efficiency.
Nazarov has promoted this outlook at various events, including a September 2026 panel at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, an August 2026 CFTC roundtable, and the Sibos 2026 conference, where he discussed the role of tokenization in supporting AI trading agents.
Chainlink provides infrastructure for these markets through two primary products: Data Feeds, which deliver external price information to blockchains, and the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), which enables asset movement and communication between different networks.
The company currently utilizes these tools to facilitate corporate actions, such as dividend payments and stock splits, and to streamline settlement operations. These technologies are intended to assist institutional adoption by optimizing back-office processes.
