Daya, a Nigerian startup building stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure for African businesses, has launched tokenised stocks for users to buy and sell digital versions of US stocks on the blockchain.
It joins several other Nigerian and Africa-focused fintechs, such as NectarFi, Luno, Blockchain.com, and Roqqu, that have launched or are preparing to launch similar products.
Tokenised stocks are becoming a dime a dozen in Nigeria’s crypto sector as startups race to broaden the use of blockchain beyond digital currencies and into traditional finance. For companies that built their businesses around stablecoins and cryptocurrency trading, tokenised equities offer a new revenue stream while giving retail investors fractional access to global financial markets without relying on conventional brokerages.
Daya Stocks, which is already live in testing, will offer more than 400 US-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including shares in Nvidia and Tesla, as well as the S&P 500 ETF, with a minimum investment of $1, according to Paul Joe, Daya’s co-founder.
The startup said trading will be available around the clock and users will pay a 0.25% transaction fee.
The launch also reflects how stablecoin infrastructure providers are expanding into investment products. Daya, which has focused on helping African businesses make cross-border payments using stablecoins, sees tokenised securities as a natural extension of that business.
“Tokenised stocks are going to do to US stocks what stablecoins did to US dollars: make them more accessible,” Joe told TechCabal in an emailed response on Wednesday. “We are following this natural next step: using the same infrastructure to expand access from global money movement to global wealth creation, with fractional ownership, faster settlement, and 24/7 investing.”
Globally, the market for tokenised financial assets could reach $2 trillion by 2030, excluding cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, according to consulting firm McKinsey. But much of that value is expected to accrue to the infrastructure providers and fund managers powering the ecosystem, including firms such as Ondo Finance and Backed Finance, that are positioned to capture a growing share of the market by supplying the rails and underlying assets that fintech platforms distribute.
Daya issues its tokenised stocks through Ondo Global Markets (BVI) Limited, a token issuer backed by US-based Ondo Finance. The issuer purchases the underlying securities through US brokerage platform Alpaca and records them through the Depository Trust Company (DTC), according to the startup. Daya said the issuer maintains collateral worth at least 100.5% of outstanding tokens.
Unlike directly owning shares through a traditional brokerage account, investors receive blockchain-based tokens representing economic exposure to the underlying securities. Dividends are automatically reinvested after applicable withholding taxes, while stock splits are passed through to token holders.
The startup said the tokens will initially remain within the Daya platform and cannot be transferred to external crypto wallets.
The move comes as tokenisation gains momentum globally. Crypto firms argue that representing financial assets on blockchains can reduce settlement times, lower investment minimums, and make markets accessible beyond traditional trading hours.
The sector has expanded rapidly over the past year as major financial institutions and crypto companies continue to explore blockchain-based versions of stocks, bonds, and other real-world assets (RWAs).
Daya plans to monetise the product primarily through transaction fees and said it intends to serve both retail investors directly and businesses through application programming interfaces (APIs).
In the long term, Joe said the company hopes to support tokenised Nigerian securities for global investors, subject to regulatory approval.
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