In June 2025, the Swiss compliance platform Backed Finance launched xStocks - an innovative product that transforms traditional publicly traded company stocks into blockchain tokens. Within just two months, its daily trading volume exceeded $2 billion, covering 25,500 global investors.
This model uses a 1:1 physical asset collateral mechanism, with underlying stocks held by regulated institutions such as InCore Bank in Switzerland, and in Solana Issue corresponding tokens on public chains. Each token held by users (such as MSTRx) represents the value of real stocks, but is not restricted by traditional securities trading hours, regions, or minimum thresholds.
Core differences between tokenized stocks and traditional stocks:
| Features | traditional stocks | xStocks tokenized stocks |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction Time | Exchange opening period | 24⁄724/7 trading |
| Minimum investment unit | 1 whole share | Fragmentation (starting from $10) |
| Settlement Speed | T+2 day | on-chain second-level settlement |
| Shareholder Equity | with voting rights and cash dividends | Only price fluctuation gains |
| compliant regions | Rely on local brokerage qualifications | For non-U.S. users only |
The Giants Behind MSTRX: From MicroStrategy to Bitcoin Empire
MSTRx is an on-chain token that tracks the stock price of MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR). This company is considered a phenomenal enterprise in the crypto world:
- On August 11, 2020, MicroStrategy purchased 21,454 BTC for the first time at an average price of $11,654, kicking off the "public company hoarding coins" trend.
- On August 11, 2025, the company changed its name to Strategy, holding 628,946 BTC (accounting for 3.16% of the total), valued at 76 billion USD, with unrealized gains exceeding 30 billion USD.
- Its stock price has increased by over 3,000% in 5 years, far surpassing Bitcoin’s 1,000% increase during the same period, and is regarded by the market as a "leveraged alternative to Bitcoin".
Due to the high correlation between MSTR stock price and Bitcoin, holding MSTRx has become a compliant way for crypto investors to indirectly allocate to BTC—gaining price exposure without directly purchasing the stock.
Practical Guide: Purchase MSTRX in the Gate xStocks section
Gate will globally launch the xStocks area on July 3, 2025, supporting the MSTRx/USDT trading pair. Here is the purchasing process:
Step 1: Account Registration and Preparation
- Visit Gate.com to register an account and complete identity verification
- Go to the 【Assets】 page and select USDT deposit (recommended Solana or TRC-20 network to reduce fees)
Step 2: Locate Trading Pair
- Click on the top 【Trade】 → Select 【xStocks Zone】
- Search for "MSTRX/USDT"
- Choose between Spot Trading (holding tokens directly) or Contract Trading (1 - 10 times leverage long/short)
Step 3: Place an Order
- Market Order: Execute instantly at the best price (suitable for quick entry)
- Limit Order: Set a target price (e.g., 170 USDT), waiting for market conditions to trigger
- For large transactions, it is recommended to use the Alpha Zone to reduce slippage
Note: Dividend handling is different from traditional stocks - MSTRx does not distribute cash, but the token value will adjust with the ex-dividend.
Advantages and Risks: The On-Chain Securities Truth You Must Understand
Four Major Advantages of Tokenized Stocks
- Global Access: Users in Africa and the Middle East can invest in U.S. stocks without a local broker
- DeFi Integration: MSTRx can be staked and borrowed on protocols like Kamino Finance
- Transparency: Custodian banks publish reserve proofs monthly to ensure 1:1 asset backing
- Flexible Strategies: Supports short selling mechanism to break through the traditional one-way restrictions of the stock market
Three Major Risks Not to Be Ignored
- Liquidity Trap: Except for popular assets like TSLAx and MSTRx, most tokens have an average daily trading volume of less than 20, with slippage rates as high as 1%.
- Regulatory Gray Area: The SEC has not recognized the legality of tokenized stocks, and policies in some countries are still evolving.
- Technical Hazards: The interruption of the Solana network in 2025 led to several exchanges pausing withdrawals.
Conclusion: The Future Path of On-chain Securities
xStocks represents the traditional finance and Web3 The key experiment of integration. Although currently limited by liquidity and compliance frameworks, its innovative direction has pointed to the future:
- Derivatives Expansion: Stock Perpetual Contracts (Stonk Perps) may become the next breakout point, meeting the high leverage demands of crypto users.
- Asset diversification: extending from listed companies to the tokenization of non-listed equity such as OpenAI and SpaceX.
- Cross-chain interoperability: has expanded from Solana to BNB Chain, accelerate multi-chain ecological integration
