- Blockchain-based tokenization is expanding the structures for storing and transferring assets, creating an environment where various assets can essentially serve as currency.
- Major exchanges like Kraken are expanding tokenized stocks and real-world asset services, and the tokenization market size could reach up to $16 trillion by 2030.
- Tokenization shows strengths in speed and flexibility compared to traditional financial systems and is said to be bringing significant changes to asset transfer methods across finance beyond crypto.
- The article was summarized using an artificial intelligence-based language model.
- Due to the nature of the technology, key content in the text may be excluded or different from the facts.
Blockchain tokenization is rapidly expanding the concept of 'money', which had been centered on fiat currency, according to one view. As structures that can store and transfer various assets such as stocks, crypto assets, stablecoins, and gold take hold, an environment is forming where the assets themselves can serve as currency.
According to Cointelegraph on the 25th (local time), Mark Greenberg, head of consumer at Kraken, said in an interview with CNBC, 'Money no longer has to be fiat or national currency,' adding, 'In a tokenized environment, almost anything can be money.'
Greenberg cited examples including tokenized Tesla stock (xStock), bitcoin, dollar- and euro-backed stablecoins, and gold, explaining that users can now store and move value in the assets they choose. He said, 'A Canadian user can hold assets not only in dollars or euros but also in euro-denominated stablecoins or gold.'
Kraken's tokenized stock service xStocks has spread rapidly since its launch in Q2 this year. Not offered in the United States, it has so far seen participation from over 80,000 wallets and cumulative trading volume of about $14 billion. Kraken, along with Coinbase and Gemini, is expanding tokenized stocks and prediction markets as new growth drivers.
The tokenization of real-world assets is also growing rapidly. According to RWAxyz, the amount of real-world assets tokenized on-chain is about $415 billion. Boston Consulting Group estimates the market could grow to $16 trillion by 2030, while McKinsey projects roughly $2 trillion over the same period.
Greenberg emphasized that tokenization has clear advantages in speed and flexibility compared to traditional financial systems. He said, 'Moving stocks to another brokerage in Canada can take weeks to months, but crypto assets can be transferred between exchanges in seconds,' adding, 'Stock settlement can also be processed instantly, addressing limitations of traditional securities infrastructure that has not changed significantly in over 50 years.'
In this trend, Robinhood is focusing on tokenizing private shares like OpenAI and SpaceX, while Coinbase is building an institutional platform for tokenizing real-world assets and pursuing an 'everything app' strategy. The industry assesses that tokenization is becoming a core pillar reshaping asset transfer methods across finance beyond crypto.
