Crypto In America Why Every US Capital Market Will Be Tokenized Soon | Will Corkin, SOMA.Finance
Mar 4, 2026
Will Corkin, Co-founder and COO of SOMA.Finance, a regulated digital asset platform focused on tokenizing traditional capital markets. He discusses SOMA’s multi-year regulatory approvals, non-custodial on-chain AMM model, and how nearly every U.S. capital market can be tokenized. He previews pre-IPO tokenization, retail fractional access, and why these products will drive adoption.
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From Corporate VC To Crypto Exchange Sparked Tokenization Work
- Will Corkin left a corporate VC job in Shanghai and spent late nights learning blockchain in 2014–2015 before co-founding a crypto exchange in 2017.
- That exchange led him to partners with a long-running broker-dealer and started the multi-year push to get regulatory approvals for tokenized securities.
Working With Regulators Enabled A Broad Tokenization License
- Early regulator engagement turned a 2.5 year dialogue with FINRA and SEC into a first-in-class broker-dealer business line for private placements on blockchain in 2019.
- That approval covered Reg CF, Reg S, Reg D, and Reg A issuance across any DLT, enabling real-world STO proofs of concept.
Spencer Dinwiddie Deal Proved Tokenized Securities Path
- Soma's team used Spencer Dinwiddie's NBA-contract-backed issuance as an early proof of concept, issuing a Reg D three-year bond to accredited investors in 2019.
- That deal proved the licensing path after two other broker-dealers were stopped by the SEC attempting similar tokenized offerings.