Prometheum's new correspondent clearing service lets broker-dealers offer tokenized securities directly. The move threatens crypto-native exchanges' distribution advantage.
Alpha Score of 26 reflects poor overall profile with poor momentum, poor value, weak quality, moderate sentiment.
Prometheum launched Digital Brokerage Solutions, a correspondent clearing, custody, and trading suite that lets traditional broker-dealers and registered investment advisers (RIAs) offer tokenized securities and crypto assets directly through existing brokerage accounts. The move targets what co-founder and co-CEO Aaron Kaplan calls the missing link in tokenized finance: mainstream distribution.
Tokenized securities – stocks, bonds, or funds issued on blockchain rails as digital tokens – have existed for years. Issuance is solved. Getting those products into the hands of retail and institutional investors through channels they already use is not. Prometheum’s bet is that the next phase of tokenized finance will be won by regulated intermediaries, not crypto-native exchanges.
Kaplan framed the problem directly in an interview with CoinDesk. “The story of tokenization so far has been about issuance,” he said. “No one has addressed the challenge of how to get those products to mainstream investors.”
He added: “Until tokenized and digitally-native securities can reach investors through the broker-dealer channels they already use, tokenization is a solution without a market.”
Prometheum operates a network of SEC-registered and FINRA-member broker-dealers that cover the full lifecycle of blockchain-based securities: issuance, trading, custody, clearing, and settlement. The firm describes its clearing-enabled custodian as its competitive advantage – the ability to act as both custodian and clearer within the regulated securities framework. Kaplan called it the company’s “special sauce.”
Prometheum’s first correspondent clearing clients include Arete Wealth Management, Network 1 Financial Securities, and an unnamed clearing broker-dealer. Kaplan said additional broker-dealers and RIAs are expected to onboard in the coming months.
Crypto-native exchanges – Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and others – have dominated digital asset distribution since 2017. Their model relies on order-book liquidity, wallet-based onboarding, and exchange-specific custody. Investors must open a separate account, transfer funds, and manage private keys or a hosted wallet.
Prometheum’s suite bypasses that entirely. A retail investor can hold tokenized securities inside a traditional brokerage account with the same custodial protections, compliance oversight, and account structure they already use for stocks and ETFs.
For broker-dealers, the suite removes the operational and regulatory friction of building a digital asset business from scratch. Prometheum handles trading, custody, clearing, and settlement through its own regulated entities – a transfer agent, broker-dealer, alternative trading system (ATS), and custodial platform.
Kaplan describes a flywheel effect: issuers of tokenized securities get access to institutional distribution channels, while traditional financial firms gain exposure to the growing market for blockchain-based assets. The firm joined the DTCC Industry Working Group in May, one of over 50 financial firms helping shape the Depository Trust Company’s tokenization service. That alignment with central market infrastructure gives Prometheum a seat at the table as settlement standards evolve.
Practical rule: The more broker-dealers and RIAs that plug into Prometheum’s network, the more issuers have incentive to tokenize on its rails. More product availability attracts more intermediaries, reinforcing the loop.
The launch is a direct risk to any platform whose distribution model relies on non-traditional channels. Three categories face the most exposure:
Tokenized real-world assets (RWA) are projected to grow into a major segment of capital markets over the next decade. Prometheum’s infrastructure competes directly with crypto-backed alternatives such as Polymarket’s prediction contracts or Binance Wallet’s bonding curve products – within the regulated securities framework rather than the crypto-native one.
If Prometheum’s model scales, crypto-native exchanges will face a choice: invest in broker-dealer licensing and correspondent clearing capabilities, or risk losing the distribution advantage they have held since 2017.
Prometheum’s thesis depends on several assumptions that carry execution risk.
Regulatory clarity is incomplete. The firm operates within SEC and FINRA frameworks. The broader regulatory environment for crypto and tokenized securities remains in flux. A shift in regulatory direction – expanded SEC authority over crypto assets or conflicting state-level rules – could alter the viability of the broker-dealer model. The recent US Crypto Regulation Shifts From Enforcement to Rulemaking signals a move toward clearer rules, the pace and final shape are uncertain.
Issuer adoption is not guaranteed. Major asset managers and corporate issuers have yet to commit to tokenizing securities on any platform. Kaplan pointed to an upcoming institutional distribution partnership that he says will attract larger issuers. No named partners have been disclosed.
Competitor response. Crypto-native exchanges are not standing still. Several have pursued or are pursuing broker-dealer licensing. Firms like Bullish are building their own tokenized securities infrastructure. A competitive landscape with multiple regulated distribution hubs could fragment liquidity rather than concentrate it.
The next three to six months will determine whether Prometheum’s model gains critical mass.
Confirmation signals:
Weakening signals:
Prometheum’s launch is not an immediate disruption. The volume of tokenized securities traded through traditional broker-dealer accounts today is negligible. The structural bet is significant: if the broker-dealer channel becomes the primary distribution mechanism for onchain securities, the value accrues to the infrastructure provider – not the exchange.
For crypto market analysis purposes, the risk is that crypto-native venues cede the distribution layer to regulated intermediaries, compressing their addressable market over the medium term. For traders who hold tokenized assets or trade on crypto exchanges that list them, the shift to broker-dealer rails could bring lower spreads, better custody protections, and reduced exchange-specific risk – only if adoption reaches critical mass.
Kaplan summarized the opportunity: “Integrating blockchain into capital markets isn’t about replacing the system, it’s about modernizing it so that issuers, broker-dealers, and investors all benefit from faster settlement, broader access, and more efficient distribution of investment products.”
Whether that modernization happens through Prometheum’s infrastructure or a competitor’s remains an open question. The next 12 months will show whether the missing link is truly a clearing-enabled custodian, or whether the market stays with the exchanges it already uses.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.