coindesk.com
Superstate, the tokenization startup led by decentralized finance pioneer Robert Leshner, has raised $82.5 million to bring more of Wall Street onto the blockchain.
The investment round was led by Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global, with participation from Galaxy Digital, Haun Ventures and Brevan Howard Digital, the firm said Thursday in a press release.
The startup aims to build a regulated, blockchain-based foundation for capital markets that works faster and costs less than the legacy systems it wants to replace.
With the new funding, Superstate plans to expand its tools that let firms raise capital and run shareholder processes on public blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. The company says it now manages over $1.2 billion in tokenized assets.
The investment comes as tokenization is gaining traction across the investment world as global banks and asset managers explore turning traditional financial assets such as bonds, stocks or funds into blockchain-based tokens. They do so to achieve cheaper and faster transactions, around-the-clock settlements and improve transparency. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager overseeing $14 trillion in assets, recently named tokenized assets one of its top investment themes for the year.
It's potentially a huge market opportunity, too. Projections by global firms like McKinsey and BCG estimate the tokenized asset market to grow to multiple trillions of dollars over the coming decade.
Superstate is one of several companies trying to turn that potential into functioning infrastructure. Through its Opening Bell platform, the company helps SEC-registered firms issue digital shares directly to investors, bypassing traditional intermediaries. It also acts as a transfer agent, recording ownership changes in real time onchain.
In practice, this could mean a future where companies conduct IPOs by issuing shares directly onto blockchain rails like Ethereum and Solana, with trades settled instantly and investor records updated automatically. It’s a sharp contrast to the current system, where recordkeeping is fragmented and trades take days to finalize.
"This year, tokenization will catalyze the transformation of capital markets," said Robert Leshner, CEO of Superstate and co-founder of Compound, one of the earliest decentralized lenders.