Bitget study says tokenised stocks cut margin needs

Bitget has published research with Block Scholes on using tokenised equities as collateral in a unified trading account. The study found that this approach cut required capital by nearly 49% in a model portfolio.

Block Scholes examined how tokenised US stocks held alongside crypto derivatives could reduce the capital traders need to commit across separate accounts. In a model USD $1 million portfolio, the capital required fell to about USD $175,000 from roughly USD $340,000 when tokenised equities were allowed to count toward a shared margin pool.

The portfolio included USD $175,000 of tokenised AI and semiconductor stocks, along with BTC and ETH perpetual contracts and a short Nasdaq-100 ETF perpetual position. Under a conventional structure, the stock positions and margin collateral would have to be funded separately. In a unified account, the tokenised stock holdings could also serve as collateral for other positions.

More than 370 assets are eligible to contribute to margin in Bitget's cross-asset account, including 125 tokenised US stocks. The report argues that this marks a shift in tokenised equities from instruments used mainly for market access to assets that can also play a role in capital management across a multi-asset portfolio.

The analysis also outlined the risks of using correlated assets as collateral. Block Scholes found that portfolios backed by tokenised equity collateral were more vulnerable during broad market declines when both the collateral and the open positions were exposed to similar macroeconomic drivers.

In a stress test, the model portfolio reached its estimated liquidation point after an approximately 21% correlated market decline when backed by tokenised equity collateral. With an equivalent value of USDT as collateral, the same portfolio could withstand an approximately 27% correlated decline.

That six-percentage-point gap highlights a central trade-off in the report. Greater capital efficiency can reduce funding needs, but it can also increase liquidation risk if the collateral moves in step with the positions it supports.

Block Scholes also pointed to stronger links between crypto and equity markets in recent years. According to the research, since January 2022 the 60-day correlation between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq-100 ETF averaged +0.41 and reached as high as +0.75, with correlations remaining elevated since mid-2024.

Collateral use

Eligible tokenised stocks in the account can continue to provide exposure to the underlying equities while also contributing collateral value, the report said. It added that eligible dividends can be distributed in USDT and that the same collateral value may also be pledged against stablecoin borrowing, subject to available collateral capacity.

This structure reflects a broader push in tokenised finance to make traditional assets more useful within digital trading systems rather than merely replicating them onchain. The research suggests the next phase of development will depend less on whether shares can be tokenised and more on how those tokens are integrated into margin, borrowing, and portfolio management.

Gracy Chen, Chief Executive Officer of Bitget, said the findings show the market is moving beyond basic access to tokenised assets.

"Tokenization has moved beyond the question of access," Chen said. "Moving assets onchain is only the first step. The bigger question is how efficiently that capital can work once it is there. This research shows what becomes possible when different asset classes can contribute to the same pool of capital rather than sitting in separate accounts. This is what we have been building towards at Bitget, where capital can move more efficiently across markets while the risk systems underneath it evolve with that flexibility."