The inaugural event sets the stage for advancing RWAs, DeFi, and institutional tokenization

New York, March 19th, 2025 - Wormhole and Securitize successfully hosted the inaugural Tokenize.NYC conference on March 17, convening leaders in digital asset tokenization with institutions and asset managers. The exclusive event hosted key executives from Apollo, BlackRock, Skybridge Capital, VanEck, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other influential organizations and crypto projects to discuss navigating the evolving landscape of tokenized assets.

This strategic gathering comes at a pivotal moment as traditional finance and institutions increasingly seek secure, compliant pathways to integrate tokenized assets into their portfolios and strategies. Attended by executives from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and other financial powerhouses, participants explored institutional adoption, examining why traditional asset managers and brokers are migrating on-chain and what developments lie ahead for stablecoin implementation and asset tokenization.

“Tokenization is the future of finance, and all of those assets will be multichain,” emphasized Robinson Burkey, co-founder of Wormhole Foundation. “Multichain is not a feature—it’s the foundation for the new internet economy. Tokenization is unlocking doors by making gated investments easily tradable, increasing transparency, and making settlements faster. We’re excited to be building the infrastructure to increase liquidity and unite the digital asset ecosystem to unlock innovation.”

Speakers from Securitize, Ethena, Aave, Agora Finance and more discussed compelling insights on tokenization opportunities and strategies for driving institutional adoption of digital assets. At the conference, Securitze and Ethena unveiled Converge, a purpose-built blockchain optimized for both retail and institutional players. As an institutional-grade EVM chain for tokenized assets, Converge aims to make DeFi more accessible by providing compliant settlement and custodial services.

“By combining Ethena’s DeFi innovation with Securitize’s leadership in RWA tokenization, Converge will bridge traditional finance and DeFi to enable institutions to confidently and compliantly engage with tokenized assets,” said Carlos Domingo, Co-founder and CEO of Securitize. “The success of the first Tokenize event highlights the growing institutional demand for real-world assets and the need for robust, institutional-grade infrastructure to scale the RWA space to its full potential.”

Exploring the regulatory front, representatives from Jito Labs, Variant Fund, Wormhole Foundation, and the DeFi Education Fund outlined a policy path forward in the new Trump administration, emphasizing the need for regulatory clarity before the industry declares open season. Richard Gabbert—speaking at his first industry conference since becoming the Chief of Staff of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force—further discussed crypto regulation under Trump 2.0. At the event, Gabbert shared that the Task Force’s goal is to coordinate across the Commission to promote cross-pollination between divisions to generate ideas that represent solutions for the industry, while also setting an example for how the Commission can engage with the public.

About Wormhole

Wormhole is the leading interoperability platform that powers multichain applications and bridges at scale. Wormhole provides developers, institutions, and users seamless connectivity between over 30 leading blockchain networks. The wider Wormhole network is trusted and used by teams like Google Cloud, AMD, Circle and Uniswap. To date, the platform has enabled over $55 billion in cross-chain volume, the most of any protocol in the world. Learn more at wormhole.com.

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About Securitize

Securitize, the leader in tokenizing real-world assets, is bringing the world on-chain through tokenized funds in partnership with top-tier asset managers, such as Apollo, BlackRock, Hamilton Lane, KKR and others. Securitize, through its subsidiaries, is a SEC-registered broker-dealer, digital transfer agent, fund administrator, and operator of a SEC-regulated Alternative Trading System (ATS).  Securitize has also been recognized as a 2025 Forbes Top 50 Fintech company. For more information, please visit www.securitize.io.

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Securitize Disclosures

Securities are offered through Securitize Markets, LLC, (“Securitize Markets”) a registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC. Securitize Markets, LLC, and Securitize Capital, an Exempt Reporting Adviser, are not involved in Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization, a service provided by Securitize. Assets such as digital assets or tokens using blockchain, are speculative, involve a high degree of risk, are generally illiquid, may have no value, have limited regulatory certainty, are subject to potential market manipulation risks and may expose investors to loss of principal.

Securitize, Inc. (Securitize) is a Delaware corporation. Securitize is a technology provider which, together with its affiliates, maintains an end-to-end web-based platform used by issuers for issuing securities, specifically including digital asset securities. Securitize is not a registered broker-dealer.

Securitize, LLC is a transfer agent registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Securitize Markets also operates Securitize Markets ATS, an alternative trading system.  Securitize Capital, LLC is an exempt reporting adviser filed with the State of Florida.