Tokenized Stocks (xStocks): What You Actually Own

Realmint indexes 140 tokenized US stocks — the xStocks family — and the best of them score in the low 80s on the Realmint Score. The tokens for Apple, Nvidia and Tesla all land between 82 and 83. That ceiling has nothing to do with shaky technology. It comes down to one thing these tokens don't give you: the share itself.

A tokenized stock lets you hold price exposure to a company like Apple on-chain, 24/7, straight from a wallet. But "tokenized" is not the same as "owning the stock," and the gap between the two is exactly where the score comes from. Here's what you actually hold.

What is a tokenized stock?

A tokenized stock is a blockchain token that tracks the price of a real, listed share. In the xStocks family — issued by Backed, out of Switzerland and Jersey — each token is an SPL Token-2022 "tracker certificate" on Solana, backed 1:1 by the underlying shares held with regulated custodians. AAPLx tracks Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), NVDAx tracks Nvidia, TSLAx tracks Tesla. You can buy a fraction, hold it in self-custody, and trade it any hour of any day — including when US markets are shut.

That last point is the real draw. Apple stock trades about six and a half hours on weekdays; AAPLx trades on Solana DEXs and on Kraken around the clock.

Do you actually own the shares?

No — and this is the part most explainers skip. An xStock is a debt instrument, a tracker certificate issued by a Jersey SPV, not equity in Apple. You get no voting rights. Dividends aren't paid to your wallet either; they accrue into the token's value through an on-chain multiplier (AAPLx's sat at 1.0020). What you hold is a claim on the issuer, collateralized 1:1 by real shares pledged to a security agent that acts on behalf of investors.

For pure price exposure, that's fine — the token moves with Apple. For anything that depends on being a shareholder of record — voting, dividends paid in cash, tax treatment — it behaves differently from the stock. Knowing which of the two you actually want is the whole decision.

How is it backed, and who holds the shares?

Backing is the strongest part of the profile. Every AAPLx is collateralized 1:1 by Apple shares held with regulated custodians — Alpaca Securities in the US, InCore Bank and Maerki Baumann in Switzerland — and pledged through a three-party account-control agreement. Backed publishes proof-of-reserves and Grant Thornton runs quarterly ISAE 3000 assurance audits. On the Realmint Score that earns AAPLx a 90 on backing, near the top of the whole catalog.

Why do xStocks score in the low 80s, not the 90s?

Two dimensions pull the composite down, and they're near-identical across the family — which is why AAPLx (83), TSLAx (83) and NVDAx (82) cluster so tightly. First, control: the Solana mint keeps freeze, mint, burn and blacklist authorities under Backed's control with no disclosed multisig, so AAPLx scores just 25 on control. Second, exit: redemption runs through the issuer at T+5 with a $5,000 minimum and eligibility checks, and the token isn't offered to US, Canadian, UK or Australian residents — a 74 on exit.

These aren't hidden gotchas; they're structural to how a compliant equity tracker has to work. But they're real, and they're why a fully-backed Apple token doesn't score like fully-backed gold. The Realmint Score breaks all six dimensions out so you can see exactly where a token gives and takes — the same method we walk through in how to evaluate any tokenized asset.

Can you redeem, or only trade?

Both, with a catch. Eligible, KYC'd investors can redeem directly against the issuer through an investor put option, settling in cash at T+5 with a 0.50% fee and a $5,000 primary minimum. Everyone else exits the way most people enter: by selling on a Solana DEX or on Kraken at the market price. For a retail-sized position, secondary trading is the practical exit — which is why liquidity (90 for AAPLx) matters more day to day than the redemption mechanics.

So are tokenized stocks worth holding?

If you want 24/7, on-chain, fractional price exposure to US equities and you're outside the restricted countries, xStocks are one of the cleaner ways to get it: fully backed, independently audited, and liquid. Just hold them for what they are — a tracker certificate, not a share. The Realmint Score puts a number on that distinction: 83 for Apple, with the backing you'd hope for and the control and exit tradeoffs you should price in.