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In blockchain news, MSX has completed its first year since its beta launch on April 15, 2025, under MetaEra. The platform has achieved $300 billion in trading volume and now serves 180,000 users. Founder Bruce highlighted milestones such as tokenized U.S. stocks and perpetual contracts. MSX is evolving from a tokenized stock platform into a blockchain-based brokerage. The company plans to focus on product optimization, asset expansion, and liquidity. Upcoming blockchain upgrades will support its mission to rebuild traditional finance using decentralized technology.

Over the past 365 days, what have we accomplished, what have we learned, and why are we more confident about the next chapter?

Author: Bruce, Founder of MaiTong MSX

Source: MSX

To every user, partner, and fellow traveler:

Hello everyone!

Today, MSX celebrates its one-year anniversary.

On April 15, 2025, MSX launched its first product. Although the time has been short, we have experienced and grown together over this past year.

A year ago, "on-chain U.S. stocks" were still a distant concept—or merely a narrative circulating on social media—for most people. At that time, Nasdaq had not yet submitted an application for tokenized trading, the NYSE had not announced any on-chain settlement plans, and DTCC’s pilot program remained confined to internal discussions.

And we, with the support of the community, chose to step in first and build it.

Precisely because of this, a year later today, I’d like to use this letter to have an honest conversation with all of you who have followed and supported MSX—reflecting on our journey, discussing the mistakes we’ve made, the insights we’ve validated, and where we’re headed next.

I. What We Did Over These 365 Days

All of Maxton MSX's stories begin with the community.

At the beginning of 2025, we and our community partners embarked on the first phase of bringing "on-chain U.S. stocks" from concept to reality, moving from an initial idea to a product prototype and achieving階段性 validation—rooted in a conviction that, while not mainstream, was unwavering.

But frankly, when the platform first launched, the product was quite rough—whether it was the trading interface, the range of assets, or interaction details, every aspect had significant room for improvement. Yet users still chose to trust us, gave it a try, and shared their honest feedback. I deeply understand the weight of that trust, and the team is continually inspired by it.

Looking back now, we should be grateful for that initial decision: instead of endlessly debating on paper, we let it run first and refined it iteratively based on real user feedback.

This year, from the initial product concept to platform launch, from refining the earliest version to continuous iteration and optimization, from explaining to the market “what are U.S. stock tokens” to beginning to answer “why now, and why it’s worth taking seriously,” Maitong’s journey has included several moments of profound significance to us:

? On April 15, 2025, the Beta version launched, marking the beginning from 0 to 1, with the first users primarily coming from community word-of-mouth.

? On May 10, 2025, the on-chain U.S. stock token market launched, allowing users to buy and sell U.S. stock tokens on-chain using stablecoins.

? On July 16, 2025, the Chinese name "Maitong," selected through a global community collaboration, was officially announced.

? On August 11, 2025, U.S. stock token perpetual contracts launched public testing, expanding trading scenarios from spot to derivatives;

? On September 23, 2025, the platform completed its brand upgrade and launched the global top-level domain msx.com;

? On November 5, 2025, the M Bean incentive program and S1 Points season launched, initiating the establishment of a proprietary user incentive and long-term value retention system.

? On December 3, 2025, the platform's 24-hour trading volume exceeded $2 billion, setting a new all-time high;

Even after stepping into 2026, our pace has not slowed down:

? February 11, 2026: The new msx.com website launches, with a systematic upgrade to product experience and visual language;

? On March 2, 2026, the Pre-IPO section launched, extending from secondary market U.S. stock tokens to primary market share tokenization;

? On April 15, 2026, today, the platform's total trading volume officially surpassed $30 billion;

As of the time I wrote this letter, over 180,000 users have traded on the platform. While this number may seem small in the broader market, for a platform just one year old, it represents 180,000 genuine choices, acts of trust, and active participation.

Every early user cast their vote for us with their judgment and actions before this space gained widespread recognition. We are deeply grateful for every user’s choice and are doing everything we can to create more opportunities and capture greater value for users, even as on-chain wealth effects weaken. This past Q1, Maitong delivered an impressive stock selection record: 39 new picks, 38 of which generated positive returns, with an average gain of 39%.

Of course, the past year has also been an incredibly turbulent one for the industry. We’ve faced setbacks, pushed through multiple market pressures and challenges, and even struggled against our own limitations. Though it hasn’t been easy, the community’s response has been both surprising and deeply moving—time and again, users have chosen to stand up and speak out with their real experiences, continuing to walk alongside us.

Our shared experiences have become the moat of MSX today and will ultimately become MSX’s most valuable asset.

If I were to summarize MSX’s most important takeaway from the past year, it’s not just a milestone, a moment of exposure, a version update, or even trading volume and user growth alone—it’s that our understanding of “on-chain U.S. stocks” has become much more concrete.

We are increasingly convinced that on-chain U.S. stocks cannot succeed based on hype alone. Users won’t stay long because of grand narratives—they’ll build trust in the platform through smoother trading experiences, more attractive asset choices, lower-friction participation, and consistently stable, clear, and predictable usage experiences.

And this答卷 was never written by us alone—it was written together by the platform, the team, the market, and the community.

II. A Bigger Picture: Where Are We with U.S. Stock Tokenization?

Before discussing MSX’s next steps, I’d like to take a step back and briefly share our observations on the entire sector.

Many of you likely have a very intuitive sense that a year ago, "tokenized U.S. stocks" was a concept requiring repeated explanation, but today the picture is completely different.

After all, over the past year, the most influential names in traditional finance have begun embracing this direction at an unprecedented pace:

? In June 2025, the Nasdaq Calypso system integrated blockchain technology;

? In September 2025, Nasdaq submitted an application to the SEC for tokenized stock trading;

? In November 2025, Nasdaq explicitly designated tokenized U.S. stocks as a top strategic priority, stating it would "move at the fastest possible pace";

? In December 2025, the SEC approved DTCC to launch a stock tokenization pilot;

? In December 2025, Nasdaq applied to extend trading hours to 5 days × 23 hours;

? In January 2026, the NYSE announced it is developing a tokenized securities trading and on-chain settlement platform to enable 24/7 trading of U.S. stocks and ETFs;

? In March 2026, Nasdaq partnered with Kraken to advance tokenization, aiming to launch a stock token framework by 2027;

? In March 2026, the SEC officially approved Nasdaq's pilot program for securities tokenization trading;

The tide of history flows mighty and vast.

A year ago, when we first started this, many people asked, “Is it necessary to tokenize U.S. stocks?” A year later, with Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, and DTCC all actively participating, this question no longer needs us to answer—it’s the market itself that’s providing its own verdict through action.

Fortunately, MSX was among the first to stand at the forefront of this historic innovation. Over the past year, we haven’t been mere observers—we’ve been key participants, experiencing firsthand how this direction moved from the margins to the mainstream.

Our understanding of the product, sensitivity to user needs, exploration of compliance pathways, and building of on-chain transaction infrastructure form the most important foundations for competing in the next phase—and the reason we can seize opportunities.

Of course, we don’t naively believe that being first alone constitutes a moat. True first-mover advantage lies not in having launched a year earlier, but in the product insight, user relationships, and operational capabilities accumulated during that time. The coming market will be more crowded and more mature—and this is excellent news for the industry, as well as a higher-level validation for MSX.

In my view, if only you are working in a particular space, it may suggest that the direction itself is still questionable; but when the world’s most important trading infrastructure begins moving in this direction, it precisely indicates that the long-term value of this endeavor is being recognized.

Our perspective has not changed. Tokenization of U.S. equities is not a short-term trend, but a structural shift in financial infrastructure—a process that won’t happen overnight, but whose direction is becoming increasingly clear.

MSX is committed to further developing in this space because we believe it represents a more efficient, open, and inclusive financial infrastructure.

Three: From "U.S. Stock Token Trading Platform" to "Blockchain Brokerage"

So, if last year MSX primarily addressed the question of “Can U.S. stocks be tokenized?”, now we want to focus on “How should it be done, and to what extent?”

Here, I’d like to share with you a positioning insight our team has deeply considered and refined over time: MSX’s next chapter is not just about being a “U.S. stock token trading platform,” but about striving to become a true “blockchain brokerage.”

What's the difference?

The core function of the "U.S. Stock Token Trading Platform" is to wrap U.S. stocks into tokenized forms and trade them on-chain, which certainly holds value; however, if it stops at this level, it merely resembles giving existing financial products a new frontend interface. At today’s market stage, we believe this is neither the most fundamental nor the most urgent proposition.

The logic of a "blockchain brokerage" is entirely different—it aims not only to address the form of trading but to use blockchain technology to rebuild the underlying processes behind brokerage services, including fund deposits and withdrawals, clearing and settlement, asset custody, global account systems, and cross-border fund transfers.

To put it more plainly, many pain points of traditional brokerages—such as high account opening barriers, slow cross-border transfers, and lengthy settlement processes—are not simply because “stocks aren’t tokens,” but because the underlying infrastructure is outdated. Settlement cycles of T+1 or even T+2, layers of intermediary institutions, and fragmented account systems across countries are the real structural barriers preventing global investors from participating in the U.S. stock market.

What blockchain can do is rebuild these processes using a more efficient infrastructure.

Just as the rise of internet brokerage firms didn’t change stocks themselves, but completely transformed how people access them—from physical branches to online apps—lowering barriers, improving efficiency, and expanding reach.

The logic behind a "blockchain brokerage" is identical: by leveraging tokenization and blockchain infrastructure, it enables global users to access the U.S. stock market—the world’s premier asset pool—with significantly lower friction. Users can perform instant deposits and withdrawals using stablecoins, replace multi-layered intermediaries with on-chain clearing and settlement, enhance transparency in custody and settlement through smart contracts, and substitute fragmented national brokerage accounts with a unified global on-chain account system.

So, this isn't simply a story of "turning stocks into tokens," but rather a story of "rebuilding global brokerage with next-generation infrastructure."

The next step for MSX is to deepen our efforts in this direction.

Specifically, there are several initiatives we will prioritize.

First and foremost, product development will remain our core focus. As the team’s “product manager,” I and my MSX colleagues will continue to deeply optimize the trading experience, page efficiency, feature completeness, accessibility, and overall fluidity, refining every detail that impacts user experience to make the product more intuitive and user-friendly.

Secondly, asset supply will continue to be a key focus. We are actively expanding our asset range, including popular equities, thematic assets, and pre-IPO shares, and are making significant preparatory moves that will soon enable users to clearly see that on-chain U.S. stocks are not just a single product, but an entire emerging ecosystem of asset participation.

Third, liquidity and trading depth remain key areas of ongoing focus. For on-chain U.S. stocks to achieve broader market adoption, they require more mature trading capacity. We will continue investing resources in order flow optimization and liquidity aggregation to make the trading experience increasingly comparable to, and in some aspects superior to, traditional brokerages.

Fourth, content, research, and user communication will not decrease; instead, they will become more systematic. A new emerging sector still in its early stages requires not only trading access but also educational entry points. Over the past year, MSX Institute has consistently delivered high-quality content, and our stock selection team has delivered notably strong performance. Community initiatives such as "U.S. Stock Masterclass" have established a solid reputation among new users.

These efforts are not meant to create noise, but to help more users understand earlier: why on-chain U.S. stocks matter, what they are changing, and how they differ from the traditional single-minded trading logic. In the future, this work will become more systematic, as we believe that truly vibrant platforms should not only provide trading contexts but also help users build frameworks for judgment.

Markets often judge new things using very short timeframes, but the most significant changes typically occur not during the peak of hype, but gradually, after the excitement fades—when people still dedicate themselves to refining the product, building out the infrastructure, and carefully improving the user experience.

MSX aspires to be exactly such a platform.

In conclusion

A year isn’t long in any industry, but within the timeline of crypto, it’s enough for a lot to happen.

Over the past 365 days, MSX has evolved from an idea into a product, transforming from a concept into a daily value-creating gateway for users. We have validated the real demand for U.S. stock tokens, established a foundational compliance framework, and built a team with end-to-end experience from zero to one.

This is our interim response—it may not be perfect, but it’s authentic.

Finally, I sincerely thank the Maitong community and every friend who has accompanied MSX through its first year. Almost daily, users have joined us in brainstorming within the community—offering feature suggestions, sharing UI feedback, discussing stock selection, and exchanging strategies. Every step of Maitong’s growth has been made possible by your contributions.

MaiTong was born from the community—not just a slogan, but a code embedded in MSX’s DNA.

Thank you to all users who have used, experienced, and provided feedback on our platform. Every click, suggestion, and comment you make serves as the foundation for our continuous improvement and progress.

Thank you to all partners, ecosystem peers, and industry friends. Many things have been able to move forward in the early stages thanks to our mutual trust, support, and shared understanding.

We also thank every team member for working together over the past year to find certainty amid uncertainty, putting in the hard work to master new challenges, and turning many others’ perceived “directions” into tangible products and execution.

In the new year, we continue.

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