Telegram to Launch Tokenized Stock Trading in $675M Push Toward Finance Integration

The global race to merge social media platforms with financial services is heating up, and Telegram is positioning itself at the forefront of this new frontier. In a move that could redefine how retail investors interact with capital markets, Telegram will soon allow users to trade tokenized shares of U.S. companies directly inside its app.

This initiative, developed in partnership with blockchain firm Backed, U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, and Wallet in Telegram, represents a significant step toward bringing traditional equities to a digital-first audience. For the first time, hundreds of millions of Telegram users worldwide may gain direct access to equity markets without the need for a traditional brokerage account.

Trading Stocks Directly in a Chat App

Instead of navigating through brokerage platforms, Telegram users will soon find a dedicated section labeled “Stocks and ETFs” within the app. Here, they will be able to buy and sell tokenized versions of popular U.S. equities such as Nvidia, Coinbase, Robinhood, and MicroStrategy.

The first wave of tokenized stocks is set to go live in October, with an initial catalog of about 35 assets. By the end of 2025, the offering is expected to grow to more than 60 fully collateralized listings, each backed 1:1 by the underlying securities. This collateralization aims to address concerns that plagued earlier tokenization projects, ensuring that every digital share traded inside Telegram is directly tied to a real-world equivalent.

Emerging Markets Take the Lead

In a striking departure from traditional rollouts, Telegram will not begin by targeting investors in New York, London, or other established financial hubs. Instead, the program is aimed squarely at emerging markets, where retail access to U.S. equities has long been constrained by geography, infrastructure, and regulation.

This strategy mirrors earlier initiatives led by Backed, which previously introduced tokenized assets in more than 170 countries while deliberately excluding U.S. investors and jurisdictions under sanctions. While Wallet in Telegram has not yet disclosed the exact regions where the service will be available at launch, industry observers expect the initial rollout to focus on areas with large populations of digitally native retail traders, such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa.

By prioritizing underserved regions, Telegram and its partners aim to democratize access to global capital markets in a way that traditional brokerages and banks have struggled to achieve.

Compliance Comes First

Unlike earlier experiments with tokenized stocks—many of which collapsed under regulatory scrutiny—Telegram’s new offering is explicitly being marketed as compliance-first. The xStocks products are issued under a formal prospectus, complete with investor disclosures designed to meet the standards of international regulators.

To further attract users, Telegram has announced that no trading fees will apply until the end of 2025. However, withdrawal fees will remain in place, and industry experts note that the absence of trading fees is likely a promotional strategy to accelerate adoption.

At launch, all stock transactions will run through Wallet in Telegram’s custodial service, meaning assets are managed by the platform itself. Later this year, however, support will expand to the self-custodial TON Wallet, giving users the option to take full control of their tokenized equities and manage them independently on the blockchain.

Why Bitcoin ETFs Are Left Out

Interestingly, despite the booming popularity of Bitcoin ETFs worldwide, Telegram’s new service will not include Bitcoin ETFs in its stock-trading section. Instead, Bitcoin will remain available as a separate purchase option within Wallet in Telegram.

This decision reflects the platform’s focus on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, where the emphasis is on digitizing traditional equities and financial products rather than replicating crypto-native offerings already widely available on exchanges. By carving out a distinct lane for tokenized stocks and ETFs, Telegram is signaling that it views traditional financial assets as the next big growth frontier for blockchain-based trading.

A Strategic Step Toward Mainstream Tokenization

For Telegram, this integration is about far more than simply adding a new feature to its app. With more than 900 million monthly active users, Telegram is uniquely positioned to introduce tokenized finance to the mainstream.

This development also comes at a time when RWA tokenization is emerging as one of the hottest trends in global finance. Analysts from major banks like Citi and JPMorgan have predicted that trillions of dollars in real-world assets—from equities to bonds to real estate—could eventually be tokenized on blockchain infrastructure. By embedding tokenized equities directly within its app, Telegram is giving retail traders early exposure to this transformative shift.

The timing is also noteworthy. Just weeks ago, Telegram founder Pavel Durov revealed that he had been an early Bitcoin buyer back in 2013, underscoring the platform’s long-standing connection to digital assets. This latest move extends that vision, positioning Telegram not just as a messaging app but as a gateway to the financial markets of the future.

Institutional Partners Bring Legitimacy

Telegram’s partnership with Kraken and Backed also lends significant institutional credibility to the project. Kraken, one of the longest-operating crypto exchanges in the United States, brings compliance expertise and market infrastructure, while Backed has already built a track record of issuing tokenized assets across international jurisdictions.

Together, these partners are seeking to avoid the pitfalls of earlier tokenization efforts that failed due to inadequate regulation, insufficient collateralization, or lack of liquidity. By structuring xStocks with full collateral backing and regulatory disclosures, Telegram hopes to reassure both regulators and investors that this product can endure beyond the hype cycle.

Risks and Challenges Ahead

Despite its promise, the initiative faces challenges. Regulatory environments remain fragmented, and while Telegram has pledged to emphasize compliance, the offering will likely face scrutiny in jurisdictions wary of tokenized assets. In addition, questions remain about whether users in emerging markets will have sufficient on-ramps to fund their accounts with fiat currencies or stablecoins.

Market competition is another factor. Several blockchain startups and exchanges are racing to tokenize real-world assets, with firms like Franklin Templeton and BlackRock already exploring tokenized bond funds and ETFs. Telegram will need to leverage its enormous user base to establish an edge over these well-capitalized rivals.

The Future of Social Investing

If successful, Telegram’s integration could redefine how the next generation interacts with both finance and social platforms. The idea of buying Nvidia shares or trading Coinbase stock directly within a messaging app would have sounded implausible just a few years ago. Today, it reflects a broader shift in how technology companies are collapsing the boundaries between communication, commerce, and capital markets.

By embedding financial tools directly into the digital spaces where people already spend their time, Telegram and its partners are betting that the future of investing will be as seamless as sending a message.

Conclusion

Telegram’s upcoming tokenized stock trading feature marks a watershed moment for both social media and global finance. With a planned October rollout, partnerships with major blockchain firms, and ambitions to list more than 60 equities by 2025, the platform is moving quickly to establish itself as a pioneer in real-world asset tokenization.

While risks remain, the scale of Telegram’s user base and the compliance-first design of its new financial products suggest that this could be one of the most influential experiments in digital finance to date. By bridging emerging markets with U.S. equities, Telegram is not just innovating — it is reshaping the very fabric of financial accessibility.

Source: News

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