Answer · checked 5 Nov 2026
Is a stock token the same as the stock? Who holds what?
No: a stock token is a token that tracks a US-listed share, a custodian holds the share, and you hold the token in your Catch wallet, not a share in a brokerage account. The two issuers differ too: Coinbase's tokens on Base are a beneficial claim on a share held 1:1 in custody, Robinhood's are debt securities with no legal or beneficial rights in the share, and the issuers say they are not available to persons in the US.
Catch at a glance
- Trading
- 24/7, weekends included
- Fee
- 0.50% once per move, $0.10 minimum
- Chains
- Base and Robinhood Chain, one balance
- Issued by
- Coinbase on Base, Robinhood on Robinhood Chain. Not issued by Catch.
Who holds what
| Coinbase token | Robinhood token | |
|---|---|---|
| Issued by | Coinbase | Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited |
| Chain | Base | Robinhood Chain |
| What you hold | A token: a beneficial claim on one underlying share | A token: a tokenised debt security |
| Who holds the share | A custodian, 1:1, in bankruptcy-remote custody separate from Coinbase | A licensed custodian, 1:1, Robinhood says |
| Rights in the share | A beneficial claim, as Coinbase describes it | Economic exposure, but no legal or beneficial rights |
| Not available to | Persons in the US | Residents of the US, Canada, the UK or Switzerland |
From each issuer's own pages, listed under Sources. Catch issues neither token: it is the app you buy and sell them in.
What each issuer says
Coinbase describes each of its tokens on Base as a beneficial claim on an underlying share, held 1:1 in regulated, bankruptcy-remote custody separate from Coinbase.
Robinhood's tokens on Robinhood Chain are tokenised debt securities issued by Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited: they give economic exposure to the underlying share but no legal or beneficial rights in it, and Robinhood says each is backed 1:1 by a share held by a licensed custodian.
Where the token and the share differ
The share trades on its US exchange. The token trades onchain, on Base or Robinhood Chain, and moves between wallets like any other token.
Catch has no trading hours, so a token can be bought or sold at night, at the weekend and on US market holidays. While US markets are closed there is no live share price to compare with, so token prices can move away from the last close.
Where Catch is not a fit
Catch sells stock tokens held in your Catch wallet, not a brokerage account. If you want a brokerage account, Catch is not a fit.
If you want the share itself, held at a broker in your name, Catch is not a fit: it sells tokens that track shares.
If you live in the US, Catch is not a fit: Coinbase says its stock tokens are not available to persons in the US and other restricted places. Robinhood says its Stock Tokens are not available to residents of the US, Canada, the UK or Switzerland.
This page does not cover the rules where you live; check those for your own situation.
Popular stock tokens
Questions
- Who holds the actual share?
- A custodian, not you and not Catch. Coinbase says the shares behind its tokens on Base sit 1:1 in bankruptcy-remote custody, separate from Coinbase, in a trust for token holders. Robinhood says each of its Stock Tokens is backed 1:1 by a share held by a licensed custodian.
- Is a stock token synthetic?
- Neither issuer describes its tokens as synthetic: each says a share is held 1:1 behind every token. The two are not the same as each other, though: Coinbase's token is a beneficial claim on the share, while Robinhood's is a debt security that gives economic exposure without legal or beneficial rights in it.
- Can the token price differ from the share price?
- Yes, while US markets are closed. Catch has no trading hours, so you can trade at night, at the weekend and on US market holidays. While US markets are closed there is no live share price to compare with, so token prices can move away from the last close. You see the price and the fee before you slide.
- Who can buy these stock tokens?
- Coinbase says its stock tokens are not available to persons in the US and other restricted places. Robinhood says its Stock Tokens are not available to residents of the US, Canada, the UK or Switzerland. Catch blocks buying and selling only in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, Belarus, Myanmar and four occupied regions of Ukraine.
Sources
Read 5 Nov 2026. Facts about other companies are paraphrased from their own pages.