Securitize Is the Pick-and-Shovel King of Tokenization—Benchmark Just Bet $16 It Won't Be Stopped

Benchmark kicked off coverage on Securitize on Tuesday with a Buy rating and a $16 price target, right before the fintech's planned public debut through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners II. Analyst Mark Palmer dubbed it a "picks and shovels" play on tokenization, meaning Securitize stands to profit as more real-world assets move onchain—no matter which specific products or issuers end up winning. In other words, they're not betting on which horse wins the tokenization race, they're just selling saddles to everyone running. Bold strategy, cotton.

The report called tokenization one of the most "profound shifts" in capital markets since electronic trading went mainstream, with Securitize sitting at the "epicenter" of that transformation. The company operates as a platform helping institutions issue, manage, and trade tokenized securities, letting it collect fees throughout a tokenized asset's lifecycle—pretty much how traditional exchanges and clearinghouses operate. Think of them as the toll booth operator on a highway that hasn't been fully built yet, but hey, they've already got the booth installed and the lights on.

According to the report, Securitize already commands roughly 70% of the U.S. tokenization market. It's also worked with heavy hitters like BlackRock, whose BUIDL fund is the biggest tokenized fund out there, holding about $1.7 billion in Treasuries, overnight repos, and cash. For those keeping score at home, that's a dominance level that would make even the most consolidated traditional exchange raise an eyebrow. BlackRock showing up to the party with $1.7 billion in tow also tends to quiet any remaining skeptics who thought token