Buying Tokenized Stocks: No Traditional Brokerage Account Required
Tokenized stocks enable direct, self-custodial ownership via blockchain wallets, eliminating the need for traditional brokerage accounts. GM Markets provides permissionless access to US-listed stocks and ETFs.
Buying Tokenized Stocks: No Traditional Brokerage Account Required
Many investors wonder if a traditional brokerage account is a prerequisite for buying tokenized stocks. The answer is no. Tokenized stocks fundamentally shift the access model, allowing direct, self-custodial ownership via blockchain wallets. This innovation bypasses many of the traditional barriers associated with conventional brokerage accounts, opening global equity markets to a broader audience.
At GM Markets, we facilitate this direct, permissionless access to US-listed stocks and ETFs. Our platform is designed to connect you to global equities through a secure and transparent on-chain framework, without the need for a legacy brokerage relationship.
The Traditional Path: What a Brokerage Account Entails
Traditionally, buying stocks involves opening an account with a licensed brokerage firm. This process typically requires extensive Know Your Customer (KYC) documentation, linking a bank account, and navigating various geographical restrictions. Investors rely on these intermediaries for the custody and settlement of their assets.
For non-US investors, the hurdles can be particularly significant. Regulations like the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) increase scrutiny, while internal risk policies often lead major US brokers to restrict or reject applicants from numerous countries. This means extensive documentation, high account minimums, and complex tax implications, such as the default 30% withholding tax on dividends for foreign investors, can deter or prevent participation. The centralized nature of traditional stock ownership and settlement means that access is often dictated by a complex web of national and institutional policies.
Tokenized Stocks: A New Paradigm for Ownership
Tokenized stocks are digital representations of real-world shares, existing on a blockchain. These tokens provide economic exposure to the price movements of an underlying asset without conferring actual direct ownership of that asset or its associated voting rights. This model is often referred to as a synthetic tokenized security, providing economic exposure rather than direct legal ownership of the underlying share itself.
Every tokenized asset on GM Markets is backed 1:1 by an actual share held in a segregated customer account at a regulated broker-dealer, such as Interactive Brokers or Alpaca Markets. This ensures that the token's value is directly tied to a real-world asset.
A key differentiator is self-custody: tokenized assets reside in your blockchain wallet, not a centralized brokerage account. This provides direct control over your assets. On-chain settlement and real-time proof of reserves offer unparalleled transparency. Third-party providers like Accountable independently attest to our reserves on-chain, allowing you to verify the backing of every token on our Proof of Reserves page.
The market for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) has seen substantial growth. By mid-2026, the RWA tokenization market surpassed $43 billion, according to The Block Research. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates the current value of tokenized real-world assets at roughly $30 billion. This growth reflects a significant shift towards more accessible and composable forms of asset ownership. Looking ahead, Citigroup analysts project that blockchain-based tokenization of real and financial assets could reach $4–5 trillion by 2030, with BCG further suggesting the broader tokenized asset market could reach $16 trillion by the same year.
How GM Markets Enables Direct Access
We provide a permissionless onboarding process, allowing you to connect via an external blockchain wallet, Google, or an email magic-link. This removes the lengthy application processes and geographical restrictions common in traditional finance.
Our platform uses embedded wallets, operated by Privy, which leverage multi-party computation (MPC) for enhanced security. This technology distributes a wallet's private key into multiple encrypted shares, ensuring no single party, including GM Markets, ever holds the complete key. This significantly reduces the risk of single points of failure and enhances asset recovery options, offering a robust alternative to traditional custody models. You can learn more about these measures on our Security page.
We abstract away blockchain complexities like gas fees. Your smart account pays native gas, and the equivalent is billed in USDF from your balance, so you never need to hold a native chain token. This contributes to the transparent pricing model detailed on our Pricing page.
GM Markets provides global accessibility, breaking down traditional financial barriers. We do not serve users in the United States or other restricted jurisdictions. Our focus is on empowering investors worldwide, particularly in emerging markets like India, Nigeria, Brazil, and Indonesia, where tokenized public equities are creating a genuine mechanism for borderless participation in global capital markets.
The Mechanics of Buying Tokenized Stocks on GM Markets
Buying tokenized stocks on our platform is a streamlined process. First, you connect your blockchain wallet. Then, you deposit stablecoins (USDF, our unified balance backed 1:1 by USDC and USDT across chains). Once your balance is funded, you select your desired tokenized stock or ETF from our available assets and execute a trade.
Our Request-For-Quote (RFQ) execution model ensures competitive pricing. Regulated market-making partners quote against the live underlying market, and trades settle back-to-back on acceptance. We also support fractional ownership, allowing you to buy portions of high-value shares from a minimum of $1, making equity markets more accessible than ever before. Trades settle rapidly on-chain across supported networks like Base, Arbitrum, Ethereum, and Optimism. For more details on our trading mechanics, please visit our FAQ section.
Key Advantages of the Tokenized Approach
- Global Accessibility: Tokenized stocks break down geographical barriers, offering investors worldwide (outside restricted jurisdictions) the opportunity to gain exposure to US equities. This has significantly improved access in regions like Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
- Self-Custody and Control: You retain direct ownership and control of your assets in your blockchain wallet, rather than relying on a third-party brokerage for custody.
- Composability: Our tokens are standard ERC-20 assets. This means they can be integrated into decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, allowing you to lend, borrow against, supply as liquidity, or use them as collateral on platforms like Aave, Morpho, Uniswap, Curve, and CoW Swap. Learn more about tokenized stocks and their composability.
- Transparency: Real-time, on-chain proof of reserves provides verifiable backing for every token, enhancing trust and auditability. Explore our Proof of Reserves page for live attestations.
- Efficiency: Tokenized markets can operate continuously, enabling 24/7 trading for 24/7 assets and often leading to faster settlement times compared to traditional systems.
Important Considerations for Tokenized Stock Trading
While tokenized stocks offer significant advantages, it is important to understand their characteristics and associated risks. GM Markets does not provide financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. We encourage you to consult with qualified professionals for personalized guidance.
Please be aware that GM Markets is not offered to users in the United States or other restricted jurisdictions. For full details on our operational policies and legal framework, please refer to our risk and legal page.
Investing in tokenized stocks carries inherent risks, including market volatility, smart-contract risk, counterparty risk, and settlement risk. While our smart contracts are audited by firms like Sherlock, Halborn, Cantina, and Cyfrin, and assets are held in segregated accounts at regulated broker-dealers, these risks are part of the broader digital asset landscape. Comprehensive information on our security measures and risk disclosures is available on our Security page.
Our platform operates on a total-return model for dividends and corporate actions. This means that dividends are not paid out as separate cash distributions. Instead, they are reinvested into the underlying asset, which increases the token's on-chain Net Asset Value (NAV). This approach ensures your economic exposure tracks the underlying asset's total return, including any accrued income, directly within the token's price. You can find more information on this in our FAQ section.
Frequently asked questions
What are the fees for trading tokenized stocks on GM Markets?
We charge a single trading fee ranging from 10 to 20 basis points (0.10% to 0.20%). The default fee is 20 bps, which decreases to 10 bps as your 14-day trading volume grows through our VIP ladder. This fee is included in the quoted price, and deposits and withdrawals are free across all supported rails. Full details are available on our Pricing page.
How is my ownership of tokenized stocks secured?
Your tokenized stocks are secured through a multi-layered approach. Each token is 1:1 backed by a real share held in a segregated customer account at a regulated broker-dealer. Your assets are held in embedded wallets powered by Privy using Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology, meaning no single entity holds your complete private key. Our reserves are also independently attested on-chain in real time by Accountable for transparency. Learn more on our Security page and Proof of Reserves page.
Can I use tokenized stocks in other DeFi applications?
Yes, our tokenized stocks are standard ERC-20 assets, making them highly composable within the DeFi ecosystem. You can use them for lending and borrowing on protocols like Aave and Morpho, provide liquidity on decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap and Curve, or leverage them as collateral across various DeFi applications. Visit our Learn section on tokenized stocks for more details.
What happens to my tokens if GM Markets ceases operations?
In the event GM Markets discontinues operations, a designated security agent has standing authority to work directly with the custodian to redeem outstanding tokens against the underlying shares. This redemption path is enforced by the on-chain contract and operates independently of GM Markets' continued existence, ensuring your assets remain accessible. This continuity plan is detailed on our Security page.
Do I get voting rights with tokenized stocks?
No, tokenized stocks on our platform provide economic exposure to the price movements and total return of the underlying asset, including dividends via NAV appreciation. They do not confer shareholder voting rights or other direct legal ownership claims against the issuer of the referenced security. This is explained further in our FAQ section.
Conclusion: Your Gateway to Global Equities
Tokenized stocks offer a transformative way to gain exposure to US equities, fundamentally changing how investors access global markets. By leveraging blockchain technology, we remove the need for traditional brokerage accounts, offering a more direct, permissionless, and self-custodial approach.
GM Markets provides a secure, transparent, and accessible platform for this new investment paradigm. We encourage you to learn more about the comprehensive security measures that protect your assets on our Security page.
