The tokenized securities veteran is pairing with FG Imperii Acquisition Corp. and expects to trade under the ticker TZRO in early 2027
tZERO, one of the oldest names in tokenized securities, wants to become a publicly traded company. It is taking the SPAC route to get there.
The company announced a proposed business combination with FG Imperii Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: FGII) on Monday, November 2, 2026. The deal values tZERO at $350 million. If it closes on schedule, tZERO expects to list on the NYSE American under the ticker TZRO in early 2027.
The deal and the people behind it
A SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, works a bit like a shell with a checkbook. It lists on an exchange first, then goes shopping for a private company to merge with. When the deal closes, the private company effectively inherits the public listing.
In this case, the shell is FG Imperii Acquisition Corp., which currently trades on Nasdaq under FGII. The combined company plans to move its listing to the NYSE American once the transaction completes.
tZERO CEO Alan Konevsky framed the move around a bigger idea. He stressed the importance of building independent infrastructure to support a financial system that is becoming increasingly tokenized.
From Medici Ventures to a public ticker
tZERO’s story starts in 2014, when it launched as part of Overstock’s Medici Ventures. tZERO bet early that securities themselves could live on-chain.
It built an SEC-registered platform for issuing and trading digital asset securities. While much of crypto operated in gray zones, tZERO positioned itself as the compliant option.
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In 2018, the company raised approximately $76 million through TZROP, a tokenized preferred equity offering. In 2026, those TZROP holdings were converted into Series B preferred shares plus common shares.
Trading volumes on tZERO’s alternative trading system, or ATS, have historically been limited. So tZERO changed course. In 2025, it went through a strategic reset and brought in new leadership. The company moved toward an Infrastructure-as-a-Service model, selling its technology to broker-dealers and institutional clients rather than relying on its own marketplace to draw traffic.
Why the timing lines up
In August 2026, the company partnered with the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) on infrastructure for tokenized public securities. ICE owns the New York Stock Exchange, which makes the eventual NYSE American listing a tidy bit of symmetry.
Then, in October 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved a derivatives vertical for tZERO. That expands the company beyond securities into a separate regulated product category, overseen by a different federal regulator.
What this means for tokenization and investors
The most direct implication is visibility. A public listing forces regular financial disclosures. For a sector where many players remain private and opaque, a listed tZERO would give investors a rare window into the economics of tokenized securities infrastructure.
tZERO raised approximately $76 million through its 2018 token offering. The proposed SPAC deal values the company at $350 million. Konevsky’s emphasis on independence suggests the company sees that neutrality as its edge with broker-dealers who may not want to rely on a rival’s technology.
The deal is proposed, and the early 2027 listing is a target rather than a guarantee. The Infrastructure-as-a-Service pivot also needs time to show results.
Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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