Meridian vs US-only stock platforms
US-only platforms list US companies. Meridian lists seven companies that aren't American, whose home markets are in Tokyo, Taipei, Seoul, Frankfurt and Paris. That is the headline difference, but it isn't the only one. The two designs make different promises, and this page sets them side by side.
This page compares models, not named products. Tokenized US stocks are usually share-backed: an issuer holds shares through a custodian or broker and issues tokens against them. The details vary by issuer and change over time, so read any platform's own documents before relying on a row below.
Side by side
| Meridian | Share-backed US-stock tokens (typical model) | |
|---|---|---|
| Companies | Seven non-US blue chips | US-listed companies and ETFs |
| What the token is | Synthetic price exposure. No shares are held for anyone. | A token issued against shares held by a custodian or broker |
| How the price is kept in line | The pool's price, anchored by the Meridian desk's market-making. No oracle. | Arbitrage against the underlying share, through creation and redemption |
| Redemption | None. You exit by selling into the pool. | Usually possible through the issuer or authorized participants, often with eligibility rules |
| Company dividends | None | Often passed through or reinvested, depending on the issuer |
| Voting rights | None | Usually none for the token holder |
| Quote asset | HYPE | Usually a USD stablecoin |
| Trading hours | Meridian pools trade 24/7 | 24/7 on-chain venues are common. The underlying exchange keeps its own hours. |
| Where swap fees go | 100% to the BuybackVault, which buys $MRDN and burns it | Depends on the venue: liquidity providers, the venue, or the issuer |
| Who makes the market | The Meridian desk, acting only from published addresses | Varies by venue |
Where share-backed tokens give you more
Be clear about this before you trade:
- A claim on real shares. A share-backed token stands on shares someone holds. A Meridian market token stands on nothing but its pool.
- A route to redemption. Arbitrage through creation and redemption pulls a share-backed token toward its underlying. On Meridian, only the desk's market-making does that, and nothing on-chain enforces it.
- Dividends. Many share-backed designs pass company dividends through. Meridian market tokens never do.
If you want a claim on actual shares, Meridian isn't that product. Risk & legal spells out what a market token is and isn't.
Where Meridian is different
- The rest of the world. Every Meridian market references its company's home listing, and none of those is in the US: Toyota, Nintendo and Sony in Tokyo, TSMC in Taipei, Samsung Electronics in Seoul, BMW in Frankfurt and LVMH in Paris.
- Native to HYPE. Every pool is quoted in HYPE, Elysium's gas token, so there's no stablecoin leg between you and a trade.
- Fees with one destination. Every swap fee goes to the BuybackVault, and the contracts allow no other destination. Tokenomics →
- A desk you can watch. The desk mints, trades and provides liquidity only from addresses published on the Contracts page, so every desk action is on-chain and attributable.
The time-zone point
Tokyo's 09:00 open is 00:00 UTC: 7 p.m. the evening before in New York in winter, 8 p.m. in summer. The Asian home markets do most of their trading while US markets are closed, and Frankfurt and Paris overlap the US only in their afternoons.
A 24/7 pool on a company whose home market keeps hours is open through all of that, which is why Meridian exists. It's also why a Meridian price can sit away from the home price whenever that market is shut. How off-hours pricing works →