In a bold assertion, MoonPay President Keith Grossman has emphasized that the momentum of tokenization cannot be hindered by opposition from traditional finance entities, such as banks. Grossman stated, “You cannot freeze progress to protect legacy economics. Innovation does not seek permission. It forces adaptation.” This perspective highlights the disruptive potential of tokenization—the process of creating on-chain representations of real-world assets, including property, stocks, and credit.
Tokenization is praised for its efficiency in settlement processes and its ability to lower costs. It is also globally scalable, and U.S. regulators are advocating for a shift of the entire capital market onto blockchain technology. However, the transition has not been without criticisms. Traditional financial institutions have raised concerns regarding the implications of this new digital landscape. In August, the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) voiced its apprehension regarding “unregulated tokenized equities,” suggesting that such products could threaten market integrity. Meanwhile, Citadel Securities called for regulatory measures in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector before granting it access to tokenized markets. This move has been perceived by crypto advocates as a potential confrontation ahead of a massive shift toward tokenization.
Despite these challenges posed by traditional finance players, Grossman maintains that the tokenization trend is unavoidable. He draws a parallel to the media industry’s evolution, stating that while the industry did not vanish, it transformed drastically over nearly two decades, changing distribution, monetization, and power dynamics. Similarly, he predicts that finance will undergo a significant transformation, where those embracing tokenization will ultimately emerge as the winners. “Tokenization will be just as disruptive to finance as digitization was to media; and likely faster,” Grossman added.
Eli Ben-Sasson, founder of Starknet and Zcash, echoed this sentiment, succinctly advising that “crypto will eat tradfi infra. And leave no crumb.”
The market for tokenized assets has already surpassed $700 billion and is projected to reach $1 trillion, encompassing a stablecoin segment with a supply of $300 billion. Recent developments indicate that credits and loans are gaining traction on-chain, with products ranging from repurchase agreements to U.S. Treasury debt. Tokenized equities have also shown impressive growth, posting double-digit increases over the past month despite a broader downturn in the crypto market. Key players leading this surge include Ondo Finance, Backed Finance (xStocks), and Securitize.
Analyzing the settlement of on-chain stocks, Ethereum leads with a substantial $335 million, followed by Solana with $164 million, while Algorand and BNB Chain take the third and fourth positions, respectively. Grayscale has indicated that tokenized markets could potentially expand by a factor of 1,000 by the year 2030, with Ethereum, BNB, Solana, and Chainlink expected to be among the primary beneficiaries.
With these developments, a MoonPay executive believes that the shift towards tokenization is indeed ‘inevitable,’ suggesting a future where tokenized assets could grow exponentially in the coming years.
