Keith Grossman, the president of crypto payments company MoonPay, says tokenization will reshape the financial industry faster than digital technology has upended legacy media, which includes print newspapers and physical music formats.
Grossman’s remarks, in part within the context of a larger industry conversation, underscore the increasing confidence among blockchain proponents that real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, the act of representing traditional financial instruments on public blockchains, is already reshaping the global financial landscape.
“While many feared digitization would destroy media, what it actually did was force its evolution,” Grossman said, adding that real-world asset tokenization, the process of representing traditional assets onchain, will force traditional institutions to adapt. He added:
“This is no longer hypothetical. BlackRock is offering tokenized funds. Franklin Templeton is running tokenized money market funds on public blockchains. Major global banks are piloting onchain settlement, tokenized deposits and real-time asset movement.”
The RWA industry, minus stablecoins, has a market capitalization of almost $19 billion, according to RWA.XYZ. Financial giants such as Citi, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase continue to exist. Still, they will do so in a different medium, much as media companies shifted to digital media in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Grossman emphasized that those who will succeed in tokenized finance will adapt, not resist, as the world transitions into a blockchain-powered global financial system.
Tokenization cuts costs and accelerates settlements
Tokenization for real assets offers several advantages, including 24/7 access to markets beyond local borders, a wide-ranging scale of exchange, lower transaction costs resulting from disintermediation, and settlement times of minutes instead of days.
Tokenized assets enable the markets not only to remain agnostic and continue ongoing operations, but they also reduce the number of intermediaries and the complexity of those intermediaries necessary, thereby lowering transaction costs and settlement times from days to mere minutes. For institutional investors, this effectively decreases counterparty risk and improves capital efficiency.
In September, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released a joint statement providing support for a regulatory regime of 24/7 capital markets.
Tokenization transforms markets amid regulatory challenges
While regulatory support is growing, tokenized finance must navigate complex legal frameworks to ensure its success. Firms will need robust cybersecurity measures to protect assets and ensure compliance with global securities laws.
The majority of the tokenized RWA value is currently floating on Ethereum, according to RWA.XYZ. The move to 24/7 trading is a stark contrast to conventional markets, which close on nights, weekends, and holidays.
The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which processed approximately $3.7 quadrillion in settlements in 2024, received SEC approval to begin offering tokenized financial instruments in December. It’s also expected that in the second half of 2026, DTCC will begin trading tokenized assets such as US Treasuries and stock indexes.
Ultimately, tokenization could create a more efficient, inclusive, and transparent financial system. Institutions that embrace these changes early may gain a competitive advantage, while those resistant to blockchain innovation risk falling behind.