Securitize's Capital Unit Wins SEC Adviser Registration, Broadening Tokenization Push as Shares Slide

Securitize said its investment arm, Securitize Capital LLC, has become a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, strengthening the firm's regulatory footprint as it expands deeper into tokenized securities and on-chain investment services. The registration took effect on July 22, according to the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database. The Miami-based unit had operated as an exempt reporting adviser in Florida since March 2023, a status typically limited to advising venture capital or private funds with less than $150 million in U.S. assets. Full SEC registration lifts those constraints but brings additional disclosure, compliance, recordkeeping and examination requirements under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. CEO Carlos Domingo called the step key to scaling the platform, adding that institutional clients want partners fluent in both tokenization and regulatory obligations. Securitize emphasized that registration does not constitute SEC endorsement. The move adds to Securitize's regulated U.S. infrastructure for issuing, administering and trading tokenized securities. Securitize Markets already operates as an SEC-registered broker-dealer and runs an SEC-regulated alternative trading system, while affiliates provide transfer-agent and fund-administration services. FINRA approved Securitize Markets in May to custody tokenized securities and support atomic settlement. With an adviser license in place, the company aims to work more closely with asset managers on products such as on-chain vaults, lending structures and portfolio strategies, extending beyond tokenized fund issuance into portfolio management and public-market settlement. Securitize said it oversees more than $5 billion in assets under management tied to products associated with BlackRock, Apollo, BNY, Hamilton Lane, KKR and VanEck. BlackRock's tokenized Treasury fund, BUIDL, represents about $2.6 billion of that total. The registration follows a series of recent corporate developments. Securitize went public through a July 2 merger with Cantor Equity Partners II, raising roughly $400 million in gross proceeds and tokenizing its own SECZ shares at listing. On July 15, Securitize and Cantor announced a partnership to embed blockchain infrastructure into IPOs and follow-on offerings, with Cantor providing capital-markets and trading services and Securitize managing issuance, distribution and servicing of tokenized securities. The company is also working with the NYSE on infrastructure for a planned tokenized securities platform. Hanwha Group is Securitize's largest shareholder, holding 15.69 million shares, or about 9.6%. The timing coincides with evolving regulatory signals. On July 22, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce cautioned that managing certain vaults and lending strategies may trigger investment-adviser obligations, urging firms building on-chain products to engage with regulators. Markets reacted negatively. SECZ shares fell more than 10% on Monday to around $6.76, cutting Securitize's market capitalization to just under $1 billion, according to Yahoo Finance, extending declines since its early-July NYSE debut. Analyst coverage has been more constructive. Citigroup analyst Peter Christiansen initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $10 price target, about 34% above a recent close. Other Buy calls reported this month include Rosenblatt at $14 and Benchmark at $16, even as institutional ownership sits at roughly 8.6%. Christiansen highlighted key risks: reliance on BlackRock's BUIDL fund, sensitivity to interest-rate moves, and uncertainty around building higher-margin transaction revenue. Securitize's SEC adviser registration marks a meaningful regulatory milestone that expands its capacity to deliver regulated, on-chain investment services. The announcement also underscores the company's bid to build end-to-end tokenization infrastructure, with near-term attention likely to remain on share volatility and concentration among a handful of major partners.