Around The Block #8

Tokenization Tightens Its Links to Banks, Markets, and Infrastructure

Blocksquare Rolls Out Major Marketplace & Oceanpoint Upgrades

On October 8, 2025, Blocksquare released a suite of updates across its Marketplace (v1.5.4–v1.5.5) and Oceanpoint (v2.21.0–v2.25.0) platforms, focused on improving usability and expanding infrastructure access for tokenized real estate projects. The upgrades include smoother wallet connections, improved sell-order handling, clearer pool information, and an enhanced Launchpad Apply page that helps new marketplace operators plan and launch tokenized property pools. These updates—alongside API improvements for faster property searches—reflect Blocksquare’s steady evolution toward more intuitive, scalable real-estate tokenization infrastructure.

Source → Blocksquare Blog

Crypto Race to Tokenize Stocks Raises Investor Protection Flags

On October 8, 2025, Reuters reported that exchanges including Robinhood, Gemini, and Kraken are racing to tokenize U.S. equities, enabling 24/7 trading. But regulators warn that many of these products lack shareholder rights or adequate disclosure, echoing early concerns from the real estate side of tokenization. For property-backed RWAs, the takeaway is clear: scaling tokenization responsibly will depend on maintaining investor protections that mirror traditional finance.

Source → Reuters

BNY Mellon Tokenized Deposits Pilot Enters Regulatory Sandbox

On October 8, 2025, BNY Mellon announced that its tokenized deposits pilot has entered a regulatory sandbox overseen by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)—making it one of the first major U.S. banks to test fully compliant tokenized deposit infrastructure. The pilot explores how tokenized deposits—digital representations of traditional bank balances—can be issued and transferred across permissioned ledgers, enabling instant settlement between institutions while maintaining regulatory safeguards. For the RWA and real-estate tokenization ecosystem, this milestone matters because tokenized deposits could serve as the trusted “cash leg” for compliant property transactions, replacing slow wire transfers with near-instant, bank-backed on-chain payments. It’s a key step toward the integration of traditional banking and tokenized asset markets.

Source → Yahoo Finance

Why It Matters

The week’s developments underline how tokenization is converging with traditional finance from three angles: infrastructure, regulation, and banking. Blocksquare’s upgrades show product-led progress in real-estate tokenization; BNY Mellon’s pilot ties on-chain settlement to the banking system; and regulators’ caution over tokenized equities underscores the importance of investor protections. Together, they signal a maturing landscape where tokenization is no longer disruptive from the outside — it’s being integrated from within.