Block & Bond Brief — April 1, 2026

Your daily edge on tokenized securities and real-world assets — Wednesday, April 1, 2026

📌 TOP STORY

SEC green-lights Nasdaq's tokenized equities pilot. In what may be the most consequential regulatory move for on-chain capital markets in years, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq's proposal to launch a pilot program for trading tokenized securities on blockchain infrastructure. The approval, confirmed mid-March, allows Nasdaq to operate a limited venue where traditional equity instruments are represented as on-chain tokens, settling via distributed ledger technology rather than conventional clearing pipelines. The move signals a meaningful shift in how U.S. regulators view tokenized capital markets — from theoretical experiment to supervised reality. Reported by Reuters and The Block.

🏦 COMPANY MOVES

• NYSE × Securitize — The New York Stock Exchange is partnering with tokenization platform Securitize to build a 24/7 tokenized securities platform, according to an exclusive report via the Wall Street Journal (March 24). The venture would allow round-the-clock trading of tokenized equities — a structural departure from traditional market hours and a direct challenge to the Nasdaq pilot framework. Details on timeline and regulatory structure are still emerging.
• Franklin Templeton × Ondo Finance — The asset management giant is tapping Ondo Finance to tokenize five equities and gold ETFs, expanding its on-chain product lineup beyond the flagship BENJI money market fund. The collaboration marks a notable deepening of the Franklin Templeton–Ondo relationship and underscores growing demand for tokenized exposure to diversified asset classes beyond fixed income. Reported via The Block (March 25).
• Invesco acquires Superstate's T-bill fund — Invesco has taken over Superstate's $900 million tokenized U.S. Treasury fund in a deal that accelerates Wall Street's push into on-chain money markets. The acquisition adds institutional scale to Invesco's tokenized product shelf and marks one of the largest asset management transactions in the RWA space to date. Via Fortune (March 24).
• Securitize earns analyst initiation — Benchmark initiated coverage on Securitize with a bullish thesis, calling the firm a "picks and shovels" play for the broader tokenization buildout. The analysts argue that as more asset managers and exchanges seek tokenization infrastructure, Securitize — which handles issuance, transfer agent functions, and compliance tooling — stands to benefit regardless of which token protocols ultimately win. (The Block, March 31)
• Plume Network × WisdomTree — Plume Network is piloting a payroll system that lets employees opt to receive a portion of their salary in a WisdomTree tokenized fund — giving workers direct on-chain exposure to yield-bearing assets as part of their compensation. The experiment is small-scale for now, but the concept has broader implications for how tokenized funds could be distributed outside traditional wealth management channels. (The Block, March 31)

⚖️ REGULATORY WATCH

SEC and CFTC issue joint crypto asset guidance. The two primary U.S. financial regulators published a landmark joint interpretation clarifying how federal securities and commodities laws apply to digital assets and tokenized instruments. Law firms including Sidley Austin, Ropes & Gray, and Dechert published client alerts parsing the implications — which broadly support the view that many tokenized real-world assets are likely securities, and that issuers must comply with existing disclosure and registration requirements. The guidance doesn't create new rules, but it dramatically reduces the grey area that has allowed some tokenized products to operate without clear classification. Separately, TD Cowen analysts placed only one-in-three odds on a broader U.S. crypto framework bill passing this year, suggesting that legislative clarity may lag regulatory guidance by a meaningful margin. Via Sidley Austin, Dechert client alerts and The Block.

📊 MARKET SNAPSHOT

Data via DeFiLlama · 4/1/2026, 5:42 AM ET

🔍 WORTH WATCHING

Japan accelerates tokenized venue infrastructure. SBI Holdings disclosed investments in two distinct tokenized trading venues within days of each other — including an approximately ¥8 billion (~$50M) stake in Startale, which operates blockchain infrastructure underlying tokenized asset trading. The dual move reflects Japan's increasingly organized approach to building institutional tokenization rails: not just deploying products, but backing the plumbing. As Western firms compete to win exchange and platform mandates, Japan's integrated bank-broker-venue model may offer a different — and faster — path to scale. (Ledger Insights, March 27)

📚 SOURCES

• Benchmark initiates coverage on Securitize, calls it a 'picks and shovels' play for tokenization — The Block, March 31, 2026
• Plume pilots payroll system allowing employees to receive part of salary in WisdomTree tokenized fund — The Block, March 31, 2026
• Japan's SBI invests in two tokenized trading venues via Startale, Digital Securities — Ledger Insights, March 27, 2026
• Nasdaq receives SEC nod for trading in tokenized securities — Reuters, March 19, 2026 (no direct link available)
• SEC approves Nasdaq tokenized equities trading pilot — The Block, March 18, 2026 (no direct link available)
• NYSE Partners With Securitize to Develop 24/7 Tokenized Securities Platform — Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2026 (subscription)
• Franklin Templeton taps Ondo Finance to tokenize five equities and gold ETFs — The Block, March 25, 2026 (no direct link available)
• Invesco takes over Superstate's $900 million T-bill fund — Fortune, March 24, 2026 (no direct link available)
• SEC and CFTC Issue Landmark Joint Guidance on Classification of Crypto Assets — Ropes & Gray / Sidley Austin client alerts, March 24–25, 2026 (no direct links available)

Block & Bond — your daily edge on tokenized securities & real-world assets. | block-and-bond.ghost.io