In a move to democratize access to global equities, Bitget Wallet, a self-custodial crypto wallet with 100 million users globally, has integrated Reality, a regulated tokenized asset issuance protocol. This partnership allows users worldwide, including those in Nigeria, to invest directly in top-tier US stocks such as Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, and Amazon. The integration eliminates the need for international brokerage setups, fiat currency conversions, or surrendering control over private keys.
The tokenized assets, known as rTokens, are backed one-to-one by the underlying US shares held at Alpaca Securities, a FINRA-registered, SIPC-member broker-dealer. The reserves are independently attested daily by a third-party CPA firm, ensuring the integrity and transparency of the investment process. During US market hours, orders route to real Nasdaq and NYSE liquidity, providing users with real-time market prices.
According to Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet, most users globally have had limited access to US equity exposure due to infrastructural limitations or the requirement to give up custody of their assets. Reality's model addresses this issue by offering real shares, real liquidity, real dividends, and allowing users to maintain control of their keys throughout the investment process.
The integration of Reality's protocol with Bitget Wallet extends beyond mere access to equities. rTokens enable users to utilize these assets in various ways once they are on-chain. For instance, dividends on eligible rTokens are paid directly into users' wallets in stablecoins, and stock splits and other corporate actions are reflected automatically.
Alice Li, Head of Reality, emphasized that this integration is a significant step in making rTokens available across a broader ecosystem. Through an open API, wallets, exchanges, and protocols can connect directly to rToken liquidity, allowing them to offer US equity exposure to their users without building the underlying infrastructure from scratch.
The partnership is particularly significant for investors in Nigeria and other African countries, where the exchange rate is relatively high. Stablecoins have become a practical way to hold value in dollars without a foreign bank account. Now, users can hold shares in US companies like Apple or Amazon alongside their stablecoin balances in the same wallet, bypassing previous friction points.
The integration is live on the Arbitrum and Morph networks, with over 1,700 US stocks and ETFs, including rNVDA, rTSLA, rAAPL, rAMZN, rSPY, and rQQQ, now available on the Bitget Wallet app. As demand for tokenized assets grows, Bitget Wallet plans to continue expanding its asset coverage and deepening protocol integrations to cater to its global user base.
Key points
- The partnership between Bitget Wallet and Reality provides direct access to over 1,700 tokenized US stocks and ETFs for investors worldwide, including those in Nigeria.
- The tokenized assets are backed one-to-one by the underlying US shares and are independently attested daily.
- The integration allows users to maintain control of their private keys and hold US equities alongside stablecoins in the same wallet.
