Bullish and Partners Launch Issuer Sponsored Token Coalition to Set Tokenised Stock Standards

Five firms spanning crypto exchange infrastructure, shareholder services, and broker-dealer technology have formed the Issuer Sponsored Token Coalition, a new industry group aimed at shaping how tokenised equities connect to official shareholder records. Bullish and Equiniti convened the group, which also includes Alpaca, Apex Fintech Solutions, and DriveWealth. Equiniti, a shareholder-services and market-infrastructure firm, is in the process of being acquired by Bullish.

The coalition’s central argument is architectural: tokenised shares should remain tied to an issuer’s official shareholder register, preserving voting rights, dividend entitlements, and participation in corporate actions. That position puts it on one side of a live industry debate about whether products offering stock exposure without direct share ownership leave retail holders legally exposed. A recent public dispute involving AMC Entertainment’s chief executive and Robinhood over synthetic versus tokenised products gave that question visible stakes.

The group says it will work on technical standards, settlement, custody, and interoperability between traditional market infrastructure and blockchain networks. Alpaca’s contribution is expected to come through its Instant Tokenisation Network. The effort follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission‘s (SEC) recent exemption permitting limited onchain trading of U.S.-listed equities under defined conditions, a regulatory opening that has prompted brokers, issuers, and infrastructure providers to position around competing structural models before standards solidify.