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Stock Tokens are on-chain, tokenized representations of equities that you own outright and trade spot — no leverage, no funding, no liquidations. Spot trading is free at launch and runs 24/7. This is distinct from perps, where you take leveraged exposure against margin rather than holding the asset.
This page is conceptual. For how spot trades are priced and settled, see Spot RFQ; for how long-tail names are represented, see Wrapped tokens.

Self-custody

Spot is non-custodial: your Stock Tokens live in your own wallet, and trades settle directly on-chain between wallets. Arcus never holds your funds or keys. Because you sign for what you own, trading a Stock Token from a self-custodial wallet prompts you to sign each trade, plus a one-time authorization the first time you interact with a given token.

How trading and delivery work

Spot trades are priced and settled through a request-for-quote (RFQ) flow: you request a price, professional makers return firm quotes, and the best ones settle atomically in a single on-chain transaction — slippage-bounded and non-custodial. What you actually receive depends on liquidity in the underlying token:
  • Real token (preferred). When a native fill against the tokenized equity is available, you receive the real token directly.
  • Wrapped placeholder (fallback). For long-tail names where no native fill is available, a whitelisted maker mints a wrapped token (e.g. wTSLA) that behaves like the underlying in your account and is automatically settled to the real token on the maker’s cadence — no action needed from you.
Either way you hold spot exposure to the equity. A wrapped token is a delivery mechanism for a Stock Token, not a separate product.

Backing

Each Stock Token is backed by reserves of the underlying equity (or cash and equivalents when the underlying is on loan), held by the token issuer. Your tokens are yours to hold, transfer, or trade.

Spot vs. perps

Stock Tokens (spot)Perpetuals
What you holdThe tokenized asset, in your walletA leveraged position against margin
LeverageNoneUp to 50x
Funding / liquidationsNoneYes
CustodySelf-custodied on-chainCollateral in on-chain settlement contracts
FeesFree at launchMaker/taker fee tiers

Control and limits

Arcus is non-custodial and cannot move or seize the Stock Tokens you self-custody. Two narrow, network-level exceptions exist: transfers to sanctioned addresses are blocked by compliance controls, and a wrapped placeholder can be force-settled to its real token (which only ever delivers what you are owed).

Learn more

Spot RFQ

How spot trades are quoted and settled atomically.

Wrapped tokens

How long-tail equities are represented until settled.