Former FTX Europe Chief Files for U.S. Tokenized Stocks Venue

Nasdaq-listed Perpetuals.com is planning to introduce tokenized U.S. stock trading on blockchain rails under the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) new regulatory framework, according to a public notice shared with CoinDesk.

Heading the initiative is CEO Patrick Gruhn, a former FTX Europe executive who previously co-founded Digital Assets AG. The company filed a notice on Wednesday to operate a tokenized securities venue under the SEC's five-year "innovation exemption," which permits certain marketplaces to trade U.S. stocks on public blockchains without traditional securities exchange registration.

Marketplace Structure and Infrastructure

The U.S. marketplace will be operated by Kephas Corporation, a Delaware-based subsidiary. Trading is set to occur through permissioned automated market maker (AMM) liquidity pools on Kronos X Public, an Ethereum-compatible layer-2 blockchain developed by the company. Each pool will pair a tokenized U.S. stock with a digital asset, initially expected to be Circle's USDC stablecoin.

Trading could begin in mid-November at the earliest following the mandatory 30-day period after the public notice, subject to the completion of technical, compliance, and smart-contract security preparations.

Regulatory Requirements

The SEC framework, introduced in September, requires participating tokens to carry ordinary shareholder rights, including voting rights and dividends. It also provides companies 30 days to object to having their shares traded on a tokenized venue. The initiative marks a return to tokenized equities for Gruhn, whose previous firm developed early stock-linked tokens for exchanges such as Binance and FTX before its acquisition by FTX Group.

Key facts

• Perpetuals.com filed a notice to operate under the SEC's five-year innovation exemption for tokenized stocks.
• Trading could commence in mid-November at the earliest following technical and compliance reviews.
• The venue will use permissioned AMM liquidity pools paired with USDC on the Kronos X Public layer-2 blockchain.
• The framework requires tokens to include shareholder rights such as dividends and voting capabilities.