In 2023, the U.S. stock markets saw an average of 74 million trades each day, with most days exceeding $500 billion in value.
Looking ahead, February 2025 witnessed the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) setting a new peak with an astounding
67.1 million
transactions completed in a single day. Separately, on September 3rd, 2025, the NASDAQ recorded
52 million trades. That’s approaching half the amount of all Ethereum Layer-2 solutions combined.
As Wall Street increasingly explores tokenization and trading platforms like Robinhood
(NASDAQ: HOOD) are beginning to offer tokenized stock trading,
a critical question arises: Can any blockchain infrastructure truly support the massive transaction volumes needed for
tokenization at a large scale?
Public Blockchains May Not Suffice
The drawbacks of private blockchains have been well-documented.
Essentially, blockchains are databases, and having numerous isolated ones offers no advantage over traditional, centralized database systems.
Currently, the widely used public blockchains struggle to handle even a fraction of the transaction load generated by major U.S. exchanges.
This isn’t a matter of opinion but a measurable fact. The Ethereum blockchain can process around 20 transactions per second (TPS),
while Solana might handle a few thousand TPS under optimal conditions.
Even with the addition of various Layer-2
scaling solutions, Ethereum’s network barely manages 250 TPS. As of June, the combined processing of all Layer-2 solutions on Ethereum reached
21 million transactions in a day,
which is less than half of what NASDAQ reports in a single trading session.
Alarmingly, there is limited evidence
to suggest that Ethereum’s scaling roadmap will be successful or that the inherent challenges introduced by rollups and Layer-2 systems can be overcome.
Issues such as failed transactions, security vulnerabilities within bridge protocols, and fragmented liquidity are likely to persist as long as blockchains
rely on these add-on solutions.
If BlackRock (NASDAQ: BLK) CEO Larry Fink’s vision of
tokenizing everything comes to fruition,
which blockchain will provide the foundation for this new financial ecosystem?
Characteristics of a Suitable Blockchain
A public blockchain capable of supporting
a tokenized financial system must have the following essential features:
Firstly, it must scale to handle millions, and potentially billions, of transactions per second.
Ideally, it should not have an upper bound on its scaling potential.
Secondly, it needs a robust transaction layer and development toolset.
Smart contracts and token protocols are indispensable
and must function seamlessly together.
Thirdly, it needs a simple, intuitive application layer. This means
wallets that make transactions easy,
tools that simplify the creation of smart contracts without requiring coding skills, and platforms that facilitate the issuance and trading of tokenized assets.
Moreover, the blockchain must be public and permissionless, meaning anyone can build on it legally. It also should mirror the architecture of
TCP/IP.
It must feature minimal transaction fees and be designed to support compliance with financial regulations like Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) policies.
That final consideration, regulatory compliance,
is often underestimated and poses a critical flaw for Proof-of-Stake
(PoS) blockchains like Ethereum. Because identifying the validators running those networks is challenging, they cannot effectively be made subject to legal oversight.
However, a fuller discussion of that point is for another time.
One Public Blockchain Is Built to Scale
Is there an existing blockchain, or one in active development, that meets these criteria? The answer is yes: the
BSV blockchain. It offers all of these attributes, plus other advantages.
Recent internal testing of its Teranode upgrade
demonstrated processing rates exceeding one million TPS, and a block containing 1.7 million transactions was successfully mined.
The BSV blockchain also features all of Bitcoin’s original opcodes and supports a smart contracting language called sCrypt.
Applications ranging from Web3 social media to
gaming and financial applications are already operational on BSV. IBM
(NASDAQ: IBM) even chose to build its
TraceApp on BSV several years ago.
This blockchain was specifically designed to ensure regulatory compliance. The
Network Access Rules
ensure that those who engage in illegal behavior can be held accountable. Also, the node structure tends toward larger data center operations, meaning that
participants are generally more accountable and responsive to property rights, money laundering laws, and related regulations.
In Summary
Ethereum, Solana, and many similar blockchains are well-suited for projects that don’t demand high scalability. The creators of these platforms have
contributed valuable insights into the capabilities and limits of blockchain technology and deserve recognition for their efforts.
However, if the vision of a tokenized financial system becomes a reality, it must be based on a blockchain like BSV. Given the lack of comparable
alternatives, it is likely that future development in this space will primarily occur on BSV.
In closing, having multiple private blockchains is as practical as having multiple Internets.
For a transparent, efficient, peer-to-peer financial system with minimal fees, security, and accessibility, a scalable public blockchain is the only viable path forward.
Watch: A messy blockchain talk with Christopher Messina