Asset Tokenization of ETFs: Easy Way to Invest in S&P 500 and Nasdaq Starting at Rp11 Thousand

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JAKARTA - The United States (US) stock market, especially the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, is still a target for global investors. But opening an US broker account takes a long process, a large minimum deposit, and trading hours that only open in the middle of the night WIB. Tokenized ETFs cut those barriers. Investors can buy global ETF representations directly from a crypto wallet, a small nominal, anytime, without a foreign broker.

Read Pintu Academy's explanation about the definition, how it works, and the risks of tokenizing ETFs below.

Quoted from Pintu Academy, the PINTU application education platform, tokenized ETFs are ETFs whose share ownership is represented as a token on the blockchain (e.g. Ethereum or Solana). The underlying asset remains the same ETF as SPY (S&P 500) or QQQ (Nasdaq-100), which differs only in the way it is recorded and transferred. If the original ETF price goes up, the value of the token goes up.

As of June 2026, the sector has reached a market capitalization of US$150 million, up almost 400 percent since September 2025. There are two models: synthetic (tracks prices via derivatives without holding the underlying asset) and regulated/native (tokens represent ownership claims over ETFs that are actually held by custodians).

How it works

Asset managers buy the original ETF on the conventional market, store it through a custodian, then print tokens worth the asset on the blockchain. Smart contracts run automatic KYC/AML checks whenever the token changes hands.

The technical advantage is in settlement: ETF transactions in Indonesia usually follow the T+2 cycle (new ownership is officially recorded two days after the transaction). Meanwhile, the tokenized ETF uses atomic settlement. Asset transfer and payment occur instantly in one blockchain transaction, so the risk of default between parties is almost gone.

The Difference Between Tokenized ETFs vs. Regular ETFs

Compared to regular ETFs, tokenized ETFs offer a number of key differences. Conventional ETFs can only be traded during exchange operating hours, while tokenized ETFs are generally available for trading 24 hours a day, seven days a week (or 24/5 on some platforms). In terms of transaction settlement, conventional ETFs follow a T+2 cycle, while tokenized ETFs use atomic settlement so that asset transfers and payments occur instantly in a single blockchain transaction.

Tokenized ETFs also inherently support fractional ownership, so investors can buy a small portion of an asset without relying on the platform's features. In addition, access to global ETFs becomes easier because investors only need to use a crypto wallet without having to open an account at a foreign broker. From a regulatory perspective, regular ETFs are under the supervision of the OJK and BEI in Indonesia, while tokenized ETFs are currently legal to trade on certain platforms.

Despite offering various conveniences, tokenized ETFs still have a number of risks that need to be understood. First, most tokenized ETFs do not provide direct ownership of the underlying stocks or ETFs. Instead, investors have contractual claims against the custodian or special purpose vehicle (SPV) that holds the assets. In addition, liquidity can be fragmented because the same ETF can be traded on various blockchains or platforms at slightly different prices, especially when transaction volumes are low.

Tokenized ETFs also rely on smart contracts, so bugs or security holes in the code can potentially lead to the loss of funds without recovery mechanisms as available in traditional financial systems. Therefore, it is important to choose a platform that has undergone a thorough security audit.

Major Players in the Market

A number of companies have been pioneers in the development of the tokenized ETF market. Ondo Finance offers more than 400 tokenized stocks and ETFs, with a total value of locked assets (total value locked or TVL) exceeding US$899 million and cumulative transaction volume of more than US$9 billion since September 2025. Meanwhile, xStocks developed by Backed provides more than 100 tokenized stocks and ETFs with a cumulative transaction volume of around US$25 billion since June 2025.

In the institutional segment, BlackRock BUIDL, which was issued through Securitize, is a Treasury fund that has been tokenized with assets under management (AUM) of more than 4 billion US dollars, although it is currently only available to institutional investors with a minimum investment of 5 million US dollars.

Conclusion

Tokenized ETFs offer access to global ETFs such as SPY without foreign brokers, small capital, and 24-hour access, with transaction volumes reaching billions of dollars, which can be a preferred asset for diversification. But its ownership is mostly in the form of claims against custodians and the regulatory status in Indonesia is not final. With the tokenization of ETF assets on platforms such as Pintu, you can buy index shares such as Nasdaq and S&P 500 with a minimum capital of 11rb.

In the PINTU application, tokenization of assets can be started by buying from Rp. 11,000. Various ETF assets are available such as SPX (S&P 500), QQQx (NASDAQ), VTIX (Vanguard ETF), and others on the Tokenized Stocks page. After KYC and deposit, open the Market in the Pintu application, select the ETF category, select the asset, then enter the nominal.