Securitize and tZERO Enter Patent Fight as Tokenization Push Grows
Securitize has asked a federal court in Delaware to rule that it does not infringe tZERO patents tied to tokenized securities infrastructure. The dispute comes as major financial firms increase their focus on putting traditional assets on blockchain rails.
What happened?
Securitize has asked a federal court in Delaware to rule that it does not infringe tZERO patents tied to tokenized securities infrastructure. The dispute comes as major financial firms increase their focus on putting traditional assets on blockchain rails.
Why it matters
tZERO’s allegations center on patents covering compliance systems for tokenized securities, digital asset issuance and redemption technology, and blockchain-based trading infrastructure. The company said products including Securitize’s DS Protocol and Vault Registrar infringe patents related to self-enforcing compliance controls for security tokens and crypto integration systems.
Securitize filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Delaware seeking a declaratory judgment that it does not infringe patents owned by tZERO, according to CoinDesk. The filing followed a cease-and-desist letter from tZERO, which accused Securitize of violating patents related to blockchain-based securities infrastructure.
The case matters because it lands at a sensitive moment for tokenization, one of the crypto industry’s most closely watched institutional themes. Banks, exchanges and asset managers have been exploring ways to issue, settle and track ownership of real-world assets such as stocks, bonds and funds on blockchain systems.
tZERO’s allegations center on patents covering compliance systems for tokenized securities, digital asset issuance and redemption technology, and blockchain-based trading infrastructure. The company said products including Securitize’s DS Protocol and Vault Registrar infringe patents related to self-enforcing compliance controls for security tokens and crypto integration systems.
Securitize has rejected the claims, calling tZERO’s allegations without merit in a statement posted on X. tZERO also said it is investigating possible infringement by at least six other companies across tokenization, institutional crypto infrastructure and decentralized finance.
Both companies are early players in regulated digital assets. tZERO launched in 2014 and says it holds 105 patents globally across 23 patent families tied to tokenized capital markets, while Securitize, founded in 2017, works with firms including BlackRock, Apollo, KKR, Hamilton Lane and VanEck on tokenized funds and securities infrastructure.