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The Future of Stock Trading: Tokenization, AI Agents and 24/7 Financial Markets

Market Movers: The Opening Bell

October 21, 2026

Video Transcript

FinTech TV Host: Welcome to FinTech TV. Today's financial system demands instant programmable access, and capital markets are entering their next gen evolution as equities move permanently on chain. Well, at the center of the shift is Alpaca, which now custodies over $3.5 billion in stocks backing tokenized equities, while commanding over 90% market share and processing $6 billion in transaction volume this year through its instant tokenization network. While joining us from Vegas at Money 2020, fresh off major October partnerships with Bingex and Bybit, is Yoshi Yokokawa, co-founder and CEO of Alpaca. Yoshi, great to have you on the show. Thank you so much for joining me.

Yoshi Yokokawa: Thank you for having me always.

FinTech TV Host: Well, it has been quite a Money 2020 this year in Las Vegas, and among some of the many themes that we are paying attention to, tokenization is front and center. So what will it take until tokenization becomes mainstream?

Yoshi Yokokawa: Uh, sure, we actually had a panel yesterday morning with the, uh, Kraken Argent. Uh, we had a really interesting conversation, like we definitely talked about that. Uh, you know, of course, now like it's a demands are picking up with the non-US, uh, retail customers to have access to US capital markets. I think that product market is pretty clear. Now we have to, uh, you know, expand into how the institutions get more comfortable. I think like what we've been talking about is like, you know, a lot of, uh, crypto-related stuff actually started very much retail-oriented, right? Like digital assets, Bitcoins. And now it became institutionalized with the, you know, ETFs and now institutions start having the exposure to Bitcoin assets. So I think like, you know, that narrative also exists instead of institutional driven. So I think that's how we want to continue to push, like where's the real product market fit right now, and to continue to have the market more expand, and we're gonna start seeing more market makers coming in as well. So that's gonna create the real institutional demand, uh, even like the next, uh, you know, 6 months or so.

FinTech TV Host: And we all know that when it comes to Money 2020, there are a lot of announcements that are taking place. So when it comes to what's happening at Alpaca, give us our viewing audience a little sense of some of the partnership announcements.

Yoshi Yokokawa: Definitely, like, so we, uh, just announced the, uh, uh, some of the pipes, uh, uh, launching their, uh, uh, you know, the tokenization, uh, initiative, uh, you know, that has been extremely big, because like, you know, they're one of the biggest players, uh, in the world. Uh, and, uh, you know, I, I see that as, as being an infrastructure player, uh, we are here to support, however, like, you know, the, uh, people want to use our platform. But like it's always humbling to, uh, work with such a big, uh, uh, you know, crypto exchanges and like institutional firms, uh, using our platform.

FinTech TV Host: And I think among some of the themes that are taking place here, and we're paying attention to artificial intelligence, in particular, agentic commerce has been something that we're all watching, but what is your perspective when it comes to agentic?

Yoshi Yokokawa: I think like agentic, uh, we are still very, very early on, uh. What I mean by early stage of this journey is that we're still have to think about who becomes liable when something happens. Uh, is that, uh, on the platform side, is that individuals who are using agents? I think this is still a conversation that's happening, not only the agent commerce, it's also the agent trading as well. Uh, but at the same time, like what we know is that there's only 8.5 billion individuals on this planet Earth. I think numbers of agents will be much more than 8.5 billion. Which means that we have to embrace the fact that like in our system has to be ready for agent-first, uh, uh, platform, uh, in terms of the commerce, in terms of the trading and investing too.

FinTech TV Host: And I do want to ask you about DTCC integration as well. So for our viewers out there who may not be familiar, tell us what's happening with Alpaca.

Yoshi Yokokawa: Yes, so obviously like DTC is the DTCC is the, uh, like a full custodian of the, uh, US equities market. Uh, you know, they've been doing amazing job since 1970s, uh, making sure the papers are like eliminated, um. And now, like, you know, of course, like you know from paper to computer, now computer to on-chain. So this is definitely like, you know, trying to take a lead on creating this digital, uh, assets, you know, certificates on digital assets, and then being able to, uh, uh, convert between back and forth, and Alpaca is really, uh, uh, uh, taking a place where we have the role of converting, uh, those, uh, you know, digital version of the DTCC certificate and then DTCC traditional certificate, which is regular stocks that we deal with. And then, you know, we are the very, very few, uh, financial institutions who own that, uh, DTCC membership approved by DTCC and then also having the native, uh, crypto operations 24/7. So that, that's, uh, you know, giving us the opportunity to be working with DTCC very closely. You know, we were, uh, uh, we worked on this, uh, and we really proved that that's doable, uh, back in June. And then, uh, I cannot say that very much details yet, but, uh, you know, things are gonna come out very soon, uh, sometime in October this month, so please do stay tuned.

FinTech TV Host: Yeah, and Yoshi, you and I have been speaking at conferences throughout 2026. Here in Las Vegas, obviously, but also in New York as well as in Miami and Alpaca has seen so much growth in 2026. So as you look at the final quarter of 2026 and look ahead to the new year in 2027, what is your vision for the company?

Yoshi Yokokawa: Our company vision is always the same, uh, open financial services to everyone on the planet. So we measure our impact, uh, over our company to how many people that we are, uh, you know, have been connected to. Right now it's around 15 million people, but there's 8.5 billion on the planet Earth, so it's, it's almost nothing. So that's that's what makes me really excited. And then, you know, growing up between Japan and the US there are so many people who still don't have a good accessibility, and then I'm the one of the people who experienced it. So, uh, it really like, you know, pushed me to work harder, uh, towards that goal. And, you know, fortunately, we have been, uh, working with many, many, uh, bigger clients and bigger partners, uh, more people are involved. So we just need to keep pushing, launching new product features, uh, and then of course working with the big partners like, you know, Bit and Kraken and DTCC, uh, you know, journey just still continues. We're still very, very early on.

FinTech TV Host: Yeah, and Yoshi, finally, before I let you go, there are a lot of companies that are represented here from the old established institutions, traditional finance, technology, DeFi, as well as builders on the ground. So the conversation might shift to scaling, but when you're thinking about the long term as well as scaling, what is most important to you and why?

Yoshi Yokokawa: I think like you know the real truth is that now like talking about digital assets or DeFi tokenization, it's now one of the part of financial services as a whole. So I think now we have to think about, uh, even though we come from the, uh, like startup, uh, status to now growth stage company, or some companies coming from digital assets originated firms, now we don't have any excuse of the labeling ourselves. We are now part of the financial services. We have to be as structured and established as those kind of, you know, big companies that's, uh, you know, putting the booth out there, uh, so we have to act like one and we have to be as responsible, accountable, uh, to the consequences that we are actually carrying for the whole financial services. So, um, which means that it's all about risk management, it's all about understanding what could happen and then having the right people who's, uh, as worried and paranoid about, you know, what could be the risk. I think that's, uh, that's the only way to, uh, you know, tackle a bunch of the problems that continue to happen in the world and make sure that we grow as big as those, uh, uh, existing players that has been out there.

FinTech TV Host: Well, Yoshi, I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to join us on the ground here at Money 2020. Thank you so much for having me.

Yoshi Yokokawa: My pleasure.

Tokenized equities, institutional adoption and artificial intelligence were among the major topics at Money20/20 USA 2026 in Las Vegas, where financial institutions and technology companies explored the future of global capital markets. Remy Blaire spoke with Yoshi Yokokawa, Co-Founder and CEO of Alpaca, about the growing demand for tokenized stocks, the modernization of financial infrastructure and how blockchain technology could expand access to traditional investment opportunities.

Yokokawa highlighted Alpaca’s growing role in the tokenized equities market, discussing the company’s reported custody of more than $3.5 billion in stocks backing tokenized products and approximately $6 billion in transaction volume processed through its instant tokenization network during 2026. He explained how Alpaca was helping financial institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges and investment platforms connect traditional securities with blockchain-based financial applications.

The conversation explored what it would take for tokenized equities to achieve mainstream adoption. Yokokawa pointed to strong demand from investors outside the U.S. seeking access to American stock markets and emphasized why greater institutional participation would be essential to the industry’s next phase. Drawing comparisons with the evolution of Bitcoin and exchange-traded funds, he discussed how deeper liquidity, more market makers and trusted financial infrastructure could help tokenized securities develop into a more established asset category.

Strategic partnerships were another major focus. Yokokawa discussed Alpaca’s expanding relationships with cryptocurrency exchanges, tokenization platforms and institutional financial services providers, including Bybit and Kraken. He explained why Alpaca’s infrastructure-first approach allowed partners to develop their own investment products while relying on established brokerage, custody and trading capabilities.

Artificial intelligence also featured prominently in the discussion as financial technology companies explored the emergence of autonomous trading and agentic commerce. Yokokawa examined how AI agents could eventually participate directly in financial markets, initiating transactions and managing investments on behalf of users. He also highlighted the unresolved questions surrounding accountability, liability and risk management as financial infrastructure evolves to accommodate increasingly autonomous systems.

The conversation also examined Alpaca’s work involving the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and the broader effort to connect traditional securities infrastructure with blockchain networks. Yokokawa discussed how the financial industry had evolved from physical stock certificates to electronic records and how tokenization could represent the next stage of that transformation. He shared Alpaca’s progress toward enabling more seamless movement between traditional securities holdings and digital asset environments.

Looking toward 2027, Yokokawa reaffirmed Alpaca’s mission to expand financial access globally. With approximately 15 million people connected to financial services through the company’s infrastructure, he explained why the opportunity extended far beyond current adoption levels. He also emphasized that digital asset companies seeking institutional scale needed to strengthen governance, operational resilience and risk management to meet the expectations of the broader financial system.

As Money20/20 USA 2026 highlighted the growing convergence of traditional finance, blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, Yokokawa’s insights offered a perspective on how tokenization could reshape capital market infrastructure. His discussion emphasized why long-term adoption would depend not only on technological innovation but also on liquidity, regulatory accountability, trusted partnerships and broader financial accessibility.

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