Orca DEX tokenized stock venue plan lines up 3 first issuers

Formation, born from the Orca and Loopscale merger, said Monday it has notified the SEC of a Solana venue for tokenized shares of 3 companies, aiming for early 2027.

The quick take

Price: Orca DEX ($ORCA) traded at $1.38, up 1.9% over 24 hours, as of 10:40 a.m. ET, Nov. 9.
Trigger: Formation, the company born from the Orca and Loopscale merger, says it has notified the SEC of a tokenized securities venue on Solana.
Watch: Whether more public companies join the first issuers before trading starts in early 2027.

What happened

Formation, the company formed when Orca DEX ($ORCA) merged with lender Loopscale, plans to run a trading venue for tokenized shares on Solana ($SOL). The Orca DEX tokenized stock venue would let verified investors trade blockchain versions of real company shares. Formation said it has notified the SEC, and it targets the start of trading in early 2027, The Block and CoinDesk reported on Monday.

The first three issuers are Galaxy Digital, Exodus Movement and Forward Industries. Formation signed them before it announced the venue, president Christopher Montagano told CoinDesk. Galaxy and Forward shares already sit on Superstate’s Opening Bell platform; Exodus tokenized its shares through Securitize.

The venue would run under the SEC’s “innovation exemption,” a five-year framework. It allows trading of eligible tokenized stocks through permissioned automated market maker pools, open only to verified investors. Both outlets say token holders would get voting and dividend rights equal to regular shareholders.

Why it matters for Orca

Formation will use Orca’s trading technology under a license, according to CoinDesk. When the merger was announced in October, the company said both Orca and Loopscale remain the base of the $ORCA token network, The Block reported.

“Tokenized stocks will succeed only if public companies see the value in them,” Montagano told The Block. Under SEC rules, a company gets 30 days to stop trading in its shares if an unaffiliated party tokenizes them, CoinDesk noted.

By CoinDesk’s count, Formation is the fourth company with a venue plan under the exemption, after OKXICE, TSV LLC and Perpetuals.com.

What to watch next

New issuers: Formation will contact public companies directly over the next two months to add names, CoinDesk reported.
Launch: the venue is not live yet; trading is targeted for early 2027.

Bottom line: Formation puts Orca’s trading technology into a regulated test, but its venue needs more public companies on board before an early 2027 start.

Price data: CoinGecko.