The financial system is undergoing tectonic shifts, and those who ignore these changes risk being left behind. Asset tokenization — transforming real-world assets like stocks, bonds, and real estate into digital tokens — is no longer a futuristic concept. It has become a strategic necessity, changing the rules of the game as radically as email once replaced postal mail: assets can now move instantly, directly, bypassing intermediaries and eliminating unnecessary costs.
Recently, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, called tokenization the next stage in the evolution of financial markets in his annual letter to investors. He compared SWIFT — the system that processes trillions of dollars in transactions daily — to a post office, and tokenization to email: assets become digital tokens that can be bought, sold, and transferred within seconds, securely and without cumbersome paperwork.
But what does this mean for businesses and investors today? And how are forward-thinking companies already building the infrastructure for this revolution?
What Is Tokenization and Why Does It Matter?
Tokenization is the process of turning real-world assets — equities, bonds, real estate — into blockchain-based tokens. Each token certifies your ownership of a specific asset, much like a digital certificate. Unlike traditional paper certificates, these tokens exist securely on a blockchain, allowing them to be bought, sold, and transferred instantly, without delays or bureaucracy.
“Tokenization gives businesses and governments the ability to unlock liquidity trapped in slow and fragmented systems, – says Christopher Louis Tsu, CEO of Venom Foundation. – It creates new ways to fractionalize ownership, lower costs, and democratize access to investment opportunities that were previously available only to institutional players”.
Through fractional ownership, tokenization lowers one of the main barriers to investing in high-value assets like private real estate and private equity. Investors can purchase fractions of assets that were previously out of reach.
Economic Potential: Efficiency and Accessibility
Integrating tokenized assets into the financial system could dramatically increase its efficiency and accessibility.
For international trade, tokenized assets could enable bilateral payment systems that bypass correspondent banks and reduce reliance on the US dollar. This is particularly relevant for emerging economies burdened by high costs in international settlements.
“Venom Foundation focuses on what I call “marginal transactions” — operations that traditional systems either cannot handle or make prohibitively expensive, – explains Christopher Louis Tsu, CEO of Venom Foundation. – With our fifth-generation architecture, featuring asynchronous processes, pBFT consensus, and dynamic sharding, we’ve built a platform that governments and institutions can trust for complex, high-volume tokenized operations”.
Developing countries with huge wealth in illiquid, non-financialized assets — such as plantations, mining rights, real estate, and mega public infrastructure projects — can suddenly financialize them through tokenization. Financial products like bonds, treasuries, stocks, and funds can be made accessible to the common person, not just Wall Street: we could go from 1% of the population having access to 95% having the opportunity. Tokenized assets can also be traded and swapped interbank and cross-border seamlessly. The list is endless — opening up new capital markets the likes of which we cannot even fully visualize today, unlocking wealth that simply does not exist yet. Institutions already see this opportunity and have been working intensely toward it for the past half-decade.
Barriers to Adoption
So why haven’t we yet seen widespread adoption of national or institutional tokenized assets?
The biggest barrier is the lack of a clear regulatory framework. The American Bar Association notes that issuers of stablecoins and tokens must comply with strict requirements for reserves, AML/KYC procedures, and liquidity, but global standards have yet to emerge.
There are also significant technical challenges: processing millions of transactions daily requires scalable blockchain infrastructure that integrates seamlessly with existing banking systems.
Monetary authorities are understandably cautious: digital currencies could trigger deposit flight from commercial banks and destabilize monetary policy. The political risk is high: a failed launch could damage trust in the national currency.
The Road Ahead
Tokenization is accelerating year on year, with some jurisdictions evidently moving quicker than others, but water finds its own level and eventually it will be commonplace.
As governments establish new regulation and legal clarity, the flow of investment from private and public institutions is visibly picking up. Their requirements are for secure, scalable blockchain architectures — with robust risk management — that support high throughput, remain compliant with local laws, and ensure interoperability with global networks.
To achieve this, several essential steps must be taken:
- Legal clarity: Governments need to establish clear rules that balance innovation with investor protection.
- Scalable architecture: Blockchain platforms must support high throughput while remaining compliant with local laws and interoperable.
- Robust risk management: Automated compliance systems, stress tests, and safeguards must be in place to prevent systemic crises.
“Venom is already partnering with governments, helping them design blockchain infrastructure they fully control while keeping it connected to global networks, – says Christopher Louis Tsu, CEO of Venom Foundation. – Striking the right balance between sovereignty and worldwide financial connectivity standards is critical for tokenization to thrive.”
Who Could Lead?
According to ARK Invest, stablecoins and tokenized assets could complement fiat currencies within 5–10 years, creating a hybrid financial ecosystem.
Looking at the global map, Asia is particularly well-positioned. Singapore and the UAE have created a favorable regulatory environment for crypto assets. South Korea is rapidly developing its digital payment infrastructure. China, despite banning private cryptocurrencies, is leading with its digital yuan initiatives.
Recently, a consortium of technology companies launched a large-scale digital finance project in Vietnam, demonstrating how public-private partnerships can accelerate the creation of cross-border tokenized platforms.
The question is no longer if tokenized assets will reshape finance — but who will lead this process. The pioneer will gain significant competitive advantages: lower costs in international trade, a surge of fintech investment, and remain at the cutting edge of setting standards.
“Tokenization is a rare moment when public interests and technological innovation align, – concludes Christopher Louis Tsu, CEO of Venom Foundation. – It’s a chance to build a transparent, accountable, and efficient financial architecture that serves everyone — businesses, governments, and citizens alike. The challenge now is to seize it”.
