Market forecasts have skyrocketed in recent years. Citi has estimated that tokenized assets could reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion by 2030, while a report from Boston Consulting Group and Ripple projected a market worth $18.9 trillion by 2033.
Patent battle over tokenization infrastructure
At the center of the dispute are patents covering compliance systems for tokenized securities, digital asset issuance and redemption technology, and blockchain-based trading infrastructure.
tZERO said its investigation concluded that products such as Securitize’s DS Protocol and Vault Registrar infringe patents covering self-enforcing compliance controls for security tokens and cryptographic integration systems.
The company said it is also investigating possible violations by at least six other companies regarding tokenization, institutional crypto infrastructure and decentralized finance.
Securitize rejected the claims.
“tZERO’s allegations are baseless and go against the spirit of fair play that best defines our industry,” the company said in a statement posted on X.
Early pioneers clash amid growing risks
The dispute pits two pioneers of tokenization against one another.
tZERO launched in 2014 and has spent more than a decade developing technology for regulated digital asset markets and says it holds 105 patents worldwide across 23 patent families related to tokenized capital markets. Intercontinental Exchange, parent of the New York Stock Exchange, made a strategic investment in the company in 2022, and tZERO last year revealed plans to go public.
