From Conviction to Wall Street
How a long-term conviction in modernizing financial infrastructure led us to one of the defining companies in tokenized capital markets.
Today, Securitize begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange. For us at Eterna Capital, this is far more than a portfolio milestone. It is the validation of a conviction that has guided our investment strategy since the firm was founded.
What was once viewed as a niche crypto use case has become one of the fastest-growing themes in institutional finance. The listing of one of the category’s leading infrastructure providers is another powerful signal that tokenization is moving from early adoption to mainstream capital markets. It also marks the emergence of one of the first publicly listed companies offering investors direct exposure to the infrastructure powering the tokenization of real-world assets.
When we founded Eterna Capital in 2018, our conviction was simple: blockchain was not creating a new asset class — it was creating a new financial infrastructure.
That conviction did not come from years spent in crypto. It came from our backgrounds in traditional finance. Having spent years at BlackRock, we had seen first-hand how much of the global financial system still relies on infrastructure built decades ago. Settlement takes days, ownership records pass through multiple intermediaries, and moving capital across markets remains far more complex than it should be.
We believed blockchain represented the biggest opportunity to modernize financial market infrastructure since the internet transformed how information moves around the world. The opportunity was never simply to create digital assets — it was to rebuild the infrastructure through which global capital moves.
When we gave our Fund I investors access to Securitize at the Seed stage, the word tokenization was barely part of the institutional vocabulary. The company had an ambitious vision: to build the infrastructure that would enable traditional financial assets to exist natively on blockchain networks. At the time, many viewed this as a niche opportunity. We saw the early foundations of what could become the next generation of capital markets.
Several years later, our relationship with Securitize continued in an unexpected but equally meaningful way. In the summer of 2023, Securitize acquired OnRamp Invest, another Eterna Capital portfolio company backed by Fund II. Through that acquisition, our Fund II investors also gained exposure to Securitize, illustrating how long-term venture investing compounds value as category leaders emerge and consolidate their markets.
Why Tokenization Matters
At its core, tokenization is the process of representing ownership of financial assets on blockchain infrastructure.
Today’s capital markets still rely on an ecosystem of custodians, transfer agents, administrators, brokers and clearing houses that have served the industry well for decades but also introduce friction, delays and unnecessary costs. Tokenization offers a more efficient alternative: faster settlement, 24/7 markets, fractional ownership and programmable assets, while enabling compliance, transfers, lending and servicing to become increasingly automated.
For us, this has always been the real opportunity. Blockchain was never just about creating a new asset class — it was about building a better foundation for global finance.
Why Securitize?
Tokenization is creating opportunities across the entire value chain. We expect significant value to be created by asset issuers, distribution platforms, financial applications and the infrastructure connecting them. Different companies will win at different layers of the stack.
From the outset, what stood out to us about Securitize was the layer it chose to build.
Rather than issuing investment products itself, Securitize focused on building the regulated platform that enables institutions to bring real-world assets on-chain. From issuance and investor onboarding to compliance, transfer agency, fund administration and secondary trading, the company provides the technology and regulatory framework required to manage the full lifecycle of tokenized securities.
This makes Securitize difficult to categorize. It is simultaneously a financial technology company, a transfer agent, a broker-dealer, a fund administrator and a capital markets infrastructure provider.
As tokenization has evolved from an emerging crypto narrative into an institutional priority, that positioning has proven increasingly valuable. Today, Securitize works with many of the world’s leading asset managers — including BlackRock, Apollo, KKR, Hamilton Lane and VanEck — and continues to deepen its role within traditional financial markets through partnerships with organisations such as Computershare and the New York Stock Exchange.
Rather than building blockchain capabilities internally, many of the world’s largest financial institutions are choosing to partner with Securitize. We believe that says as much about the maturity of the market as it does about the quality of the company.
A Defining Moment for the Industry
Securitize’s listing follows its business combination with Cantor Equity Partners II and is expected to provide approximately $400 million of fresh capital, creating one of the best-capitalized companies in the tokenization ecosystem. More importantly, it becomes one of the first pure-play public companies focused on the tokenization of real-world assets — one of what we believe are the three defining long-term growth themes in blockchain, alongside stablecoins/payments and decentralized finance.
This milestone is significant not simply because another venture-backed company has reached the public markets, but because it reflects how far the industry has evolved.
Only a few years ago, institutions were still debating whether blockchain had a meaningful role to play in financial markets. Today, many of the world’s largest asset managers are actively launching tokenized investment products and partnering with companies like Securitize rather than building the infrastructure themselves.
Infrastructure transitions rarely happen overnight. They happen gradually, then all at once. We believe tokenization has now entered that second phase.
For us, this is exactly what long-term venture investing is about.
Our investment philosophy has never been about chasing short-term narratives. It has been about identifying structural shifts before they become consensus, backing exceptional founders early and remaining patient as industries mature. Venture capital is rarely about predicting what will matter next year. It is about understanding what the world may look like a decade from now and partnering with the entrepreneurs building that future.
We often say that the best venture investments begin with a simple question: What will the world look like in ten years?
Nearly a decade ago, we believed the financial system would increasingly migrate onto blockchain infrastructure. Today, that future is beginning to take shape. The world’s largest asset managers are launching tokenized products. Regulators are providing clearer frameworks. The infrastructure supporting this new financial system is reaching the public markets.
Across multiple fund vintages, we have been fortunate to give our investors exposure to one of the companies helping make that future a reality.
The best infrastructure companies don’t simply participate in industry transitions — they enable them. We believe the next decade of finance will not simply be digital — it will increasingly be on-chain. Watching Securitize reach Wall Street is a proud moment for everyone at Eterna Capital, not simply because of what it represents for one portfolio company, but because of what it says about the direction of global finance.
Congratulations to Carlos Domingo and the entire Securitize team on this remarkable achievement. We are proud to have been part of the journey and excited to watch the next chapter unfold.
About Securitize
Securitize, the world’s leader in tokenizing real-world assets with $4B+ AUM (as of May 2026), is bringing the world onchain through tokenized funds in partnership with top-tier asset managers, such as Apollo, BlackRock, BNY, Hamilton Lane, KKR, VanEck and others.
In the U.S., Securitize operates through its affiliates, including Securitize Markets, LLC, an SEC-registered broker-dealer that operates an SEC-regulated Alternative Trading System (ATS); Securitize Transfer Agent, LLC, an SEC-registered transfer agent; Securitize Capital, LLC, an Exempt Reporting Adviser; and Securitize Fund Services, LLC, which provides fund administration services. In Europe, Securitize operates through its affiliate Securitize Europe Brokerage and Markets, S.A., which is fully authorized as an Investment Firm and operates a Trading & Settlement System (TSS) under the EU DLT Pilot Regime, making Securitize the only company licensed to operate regulated digital-securities infrastructure across both the U.S. and EU. Securitize has also been recognized as a 2026 Forbes Top 50 Fintech company.
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About Eterna Capital
Eterna Capital is a venture capital firm investing in early stage startups. We back exceptional founders architecting tomorrow’s internet.
For more information, visit www.eternacapital.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X and Bluesky.
Disclaimer:
This post has been prepared for general informational purposes only and reflects the current views of its authors. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of Eterna Capital, its affiliates, or individuals associated with Eterna Capital, and may change without notice.
Nothing contained herein constitutes or should be construed as investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice, or as a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell any investment. This material should not be relied upon to evaluate the merits of any investment decision.
Eterna Capital makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information contained herein. All liability in connection with this material and any reliance thereon is expressly disclaimed.
