The prediction by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins struck like a giant stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up waves in the crypto market. The scenario he outlined in the interview is unfolding simultaneously on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.
U.S. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins made a bold prediction during a recent interview with Fox Business: the entire U.S. financial market may migrate to blockchain technology within two years.
This statement quickly became the hottest topic in the crypto industry. “This will not only be a trend for the next decade, but it may also become a reality in just two years,” Atkins clearly stated during the interview.
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01 Market Signals: Shifts in Regulatory Winds and Institutional Waves
The remarks of the SEC chairman are not isolated incidents but are a clear signal in the digitalization process of the financial market. This top U.S. financial market regulator believes that digital assets, market digitization, and tokenization will bring 'huge benefits,' especially in terms of transparency and risk management.
Asset tokenization is moving from the fringes to the mainstream. As a professional analysis points out, tokenized assets are expected to grow from the current approximately $600 billion to $18.9 trillion by 2033.
It is noteworthy that the attitude of U.S. regulatory agencies towards crypto assets is undergoing a noticeable shift. The SEC itself reiterated in July 2025 that tokenized securities are still securities and must comply with existing securities laws, while also expressing a willingness to collaborate with the industry to develop new rules or exemptions.
The shift in regulatory attitude resonates with the proactive exploration of financial institutions. Bitwise's report shows that institutional investors currently control about 12.5% of the Bitcoin supply, and this proportion is still rising rapidly.
02 Technological Revolution: Global Practices from Nasdaq to Hong Kong
When the SEC chairman talks about the entire financial market migrating to the blockchain, he is depicting the scenario that traditional financial institutions like Nasdaq are actively promoting.
Nasdaq has submitted a rule change application to the SEC, aiming to allow investors to directly trade shares of listed companies like Apple and Microsoft in blockchain token form on the Nasdaq main board.
This application demonstrates a 'hybrid architecture' solution: the front-end trading experience remains unchanged, while the back-end settlement introduces blockchain technology. Once a transaction is completed, the custody trust company locks traditional stocks and mints equivalent tokens on-chain.
Not only in the U.S., but Hong Kong is also actively promoting the development of digital assets. The Hong Kong SAR government has released the (Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0), proposing the 'LEAP' framework to promote the normalization of government bond tokenization and support the tokenization of diverse assets including gold, non-ferrous metals, and renewable energy.
The Ensemble project launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority aims to collaborate with the Securities and Futures Commission to create an interbank tokenized deposit settlement system to address the pain points of fund circulation efficiency.
03 Core Sectors: In-Depth Analysis of Four Beneficial Areas
The prediction of the entire U.S. financial market migrating to the blockchain brings direct benefits to multiple sectors of the crypto market. Here are the core areas most likely to benefit:
The tokenization of real-world assets is experiencing an explosion
RWA is the process of tokenizing traditional assets such as bonds, real estate, or commodities through blockchain. With traditional financial institutions entering the field, this area is shifting from experimental innovation to scalable commercial practice.
The entry of traditional financial institutions could pose a 'dimensionality reduction strike' on existing RWA protocols. If Nasdaq directly issues the most credible native tokenized stocks, the survival space for protocols focused on intermediary issuance and underwriting may be compressed.
The demand for public chains and Layer 2 infrastructure is surging
The comprehensive migration of financial markets requires high-performance, high-security blockchain infrastructure support. This includes not only transaction execution but also robust settlement capabilities and smart contract functions.
Blockchain, through distributed ledger technology and smart contracts, can enable transactions to be completed in minutes or even seconds, significantly improving efficiency compared to the one to two days settlement period of traditional financial systems.
Stablecoins have become the core medium of on-chain finance
With the implementation of (stablecoin issuer regulatory systems) in places like Hong Kong, compliant stablecoins are becoming a key bridge connecting traditional finance and digital assets.
The regulatory framework for stablecoins requires penetrating supervision over reserve asset custody, redemption processes, and risk management, providing institutional guarantees to solve the trust crisis of stablecoins.
The value of infrastructure and service providers is becoming more prominent
Infrastructure providers, including trading platforms, custody services, and compliance tools, will directly benefit from the on-chain migration of financial markets.
Traditional financial asset tokenization transactions still require intermediary institutions to provide services, which play a key role in matching buyers and sellers and processing transaction settlements, albeit with a more efficient process.
04 Ecological Outlook: The Construction and Challenges of a New Financial System
The vision of fully migrating financial markets to the blockchain faces multiple challenges. Legal adaptability gaps are a major obstacle, as the current legal system lacks clear definitions for 'tokenized asset ownership,' and the legislative cycle may lag behind market innovation.
There are also resistances to collaboration among financial institutions. Traditional banks have conflicts of interest with blockchain in tokenized deposits and stablecoin clearing businesses, and balancing disruptive innovation with vested interests is a major issue.
The uncertainty of the regulatory framework is a common concern. Existing laws do not fully adapt to new things like tokenized assets, and regulatory differences across jurisdictions may impact the formation of global markets.
Despite facing challenges, the trend has already formed. Asset tokenization can reduce intermediaries, lower transaction costs, accelerate transaction speeds, and improve liquidity.
For investors, tokenization can lower investment thresholds, allowing less affluent investors to buy partial rights to non-liquid assets such as artworks or real estate.
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When asked if they are ready to invest retirement funds in tokenized stocks on the blockchain, a Wall Street analyst cautiously stated: 'The technology is ready, the market is forming, regulation is gradually clarifying, and the only thing left is a matter of time.'
Hong Kong is attempting to build a fusion paradigm of 'traditional assets-tokenization-stablecoin circulation', while institutions like Nasdaq are entering through the trading settlement phase.
The ultimate form of this transformation may be as SEC Chairman Atkins predicts, not just a ten-year trend, but likely becoming an attainable reality within two years. When traditional stocks and digital tokens trade on the same order book, the history of financial markets will turn a new page.
