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Agreement establishes a pathway built on SEC-registered broker-dealer infrastructure to distribute U.S. equities to eligible international investors through HashKey’s licensed exchange network
NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Prometheum Inc. (“Prometheum”), a market infrastructure provider for crypto assets, today announced that its subsidiary Prometheum Capital LLC (“Prometheum Capital”), an SEC-registered, FINRA member crypto asset custodian and clearing broker-dealer, has signed a binding memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) with HashKey Digital Asset Group Limited (“HashKey”) and Velocity Capital, LLC (“Velocity”), an SEC-registered, FINRA member broker-dealer authorized for traditional securities clearing and execution, to internationalize tokenized U.S. equities.
HashKey will serve as the international distributor through its eligible licensed exchanges in multiple jurisdictions. Prometheum Capital and Velocity Capital will collectively provide the traditional securities and crypto asset custodial, execution, and clearing solutions to HashKey.
“U.S. equities are among the most sought-after investments, and tokenization is how they will reach global investors at scale,” said Aaron Kaplan, founder and co-CEO, Prometheum Inc. “This MOU connects the world’s deepest capital markets to international digital securities distribution not through offshore wrappers, but through the regulatory frameworks that have made U.S. markets the most trusted in the world.”
“This partnership extends HashKey’s licensed infrastructure to one of the most significant opportunities in digital asset markets. Through this collaboration, eligible clients in multiple jurisdictions will have the opportunity to access tokenized U.S. equities supported by SEC-registered clearing infrastructure, subject to applicable laws and regulatory requirements,” said Dr. Xiao Feng, CEO, HashKey Digital Asset Group. “We see this as a critical step in building the institutional-grade cross-border distribution layer that the industry requires.”
“Tokenized U.S. equities can only work at global scale if the underlying shares are executed, cleared, and held with the same rigor as any share traded in the regulated U.S. equity markets,” said Roy Yan, CEO, Velocity Capital, LLC. “This partnership demonstrates how traditional clearing capabilities support the emerging tokenized securities market while maintaining the operational standards our institutional clients expect.”
The tokenized U.S. equities will be digital twins of the traditional real-world asset versions that are custodied at The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), a subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”).
According to DTCC, DTC-tokenized assets maintain the same investor protections, entitlements, and ownership rights as traditional securities, all while enabling greater efficiency and programmability. The DTCC Tokenization Service is expected to launch in Q4 2026.
Eligible securities include the constituents of the Russell 1000, which represents the 1,000 largest publicly traded U.S. companies by market cap, as well as ETFs tracking major indices and U.S. Treasury bills, bonds, and notes.
The MOU comes amid rapidly growing global demand for tokenized U.S. equities, one of the fastest-growing segments of the tokenized asset market. U.S. equity markets are the deepest and most trusted in the world, yet most international investors cannot access them directly or cost-efficiently.[1] Existing alternatives typically offer synthetic exposure rather than direct ownership of the underlying securities, or special purpose vehicle (SPV)-based exposure where the digital token represents a claim in an off-chain legal entity that holds the equity. This MOU establishes one of the first international distribution frameworks built on that foundation by bringing tokenized real-world U.S. securities to international markets – not synthetic or wrapped representations.
The parties intend to negotiate final definitive agreements and complete technical integration in the coming months, with a launch subject to regulatory approval and the completion of technical integration. The parties plan to launch a pilot project in the future.
Disclaimer: The proposed collaboration remains subject to the execution of definitive agreements, completion of technical and operational integration, availability of the DTCC tokenization infrastructure, and satisfaction of all applicable legal, regulatory and licensing requirements in the relevant jurisdictions. Any products or services contemplated in connection with the proposed collaboration may be made available only to eligible investors in specified jurisdictions. No offer or solicitation of any securities or investment product is being made pursuant to this announcement.
About Prometheum Inc.
Prometheum Inc. supports crypto assets including select crypto tokens, tokenized securities, and digitally-native securities through its broker-dealer network and market infrastructure for the issuance, distribution, trading, and custody of crypto assets. Its broker-dealer network includes Prometheum Capital (custody, clearing, and settlement), ProFinancial (issuance and distribution), Prometheum ATS (secondary market trading), and an SEC-registered digital transfer agent, Prometheum Coinery. For more information, please visit https://www.prometheum.com or contact business@procustody.com.
About HashKey Digital Asset Group
HashKey Digital Asset Group is an established comprehensive digital asset company in Asia with a global footprint, providing end-to-end financial infrastructure, technology and investment management to create a digital assets ecosystem. The Company offers a licensed digital asset platform to provide transaction facilitation services, on-chain services, and asset management services. Disclaimer.
[1] Coppola, A., Maggiori, M., Neiman, B. & Schreger, J. (2025). Barriers to Global Capital Allocation. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 140(4), 3067. https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/140/4/3067/8171934 |
About Velocity Capital, LLC
Velocity Capital, LLC is a New York-based, SEC-registered and FINRA member broker-dealer providing execution, clearing and custody, and securities lending services, directly and through correspondent clearing relationships. The firm also trades for its own account and holds clearing memberships with The Depository Trust Company (DTC), the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), and The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). For more information, please visit https://velocitycapitalllc.com/
