#代币化将改变全球金融市场 Tokenization is expected to reshape the global financial market from multiple dimensions, including trading models, asset forms, and currency patterns. However, it also comes with regulatory and stability risks. The changes it brings to the financial market and the potential challenges are as follows:
1. A qualitative leap in trading efficiency: Tokenization leverages the atomic settlement characteristics of blockchain, allowing transactions of assets such as stocks and bonds to be almost instantaneous. For example, the settlement of tokenized money market funds takes only a few seconds, while traditional models usually take 1 to 3 days. This not only helps asset management reduce costs by about one-fifth but also supports 24/7 trading, freeing it from the time limitations of traditional markets. Additionally, cross-border transactions do not rely on intermediary bank networks, significantly reducing intermediaries and delays.
2. Activating the vitality of illiquid assets: Its divisibility allows traditionally hard-to-split assets like real estate and private equity to be divided into small tokens, enabling ordinary investors to participate in investment. For example, after tokenization of real estate, one can hold partial ownership without large amounts of capital. This fragmented ownership breaks down the investment barriers of traditional assets, opening up new markets for such illiquid assets and significantly enhancing their liquidity.
3. Reconstructing financial intermediaries and competitive landscape: The programmability of tokenization allows for automatic distribution of dividends and other functions, which can automate the roles of certain intermediaries such as registration agencies. At the same time, assets can be transferred between different brokers with one click, making it easier for investors to switch service providers for better deals, thereby forcing intermediaries to enhance their service competitiveness. However, it does not completely eliminate intermediaries but rather promotes the transformation of custodians into compliant infrastructure service providers.
4. Impact on global currency and capital flows: Most stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar and backed by US Treasury securities. By 2025, the scale of related reserves will exceed the holdings of multiple countries, further consolidating the dollar's advantage in cross-border payments. In addition, tokenization blurs the boundaries between currency and value transfer. Coupled with the cross-platform connectivity of central bank digital currencies, it can simplify the process of cross-border capital flows, making the cross-border allocation of global assets more convenient, while also potentially expanding the degree of financial integration.
5. Hidden risks and uncertainties: Technically, if different ledgers cannot work together, it can create market 'islands', affecting overall efficiency. At the market level, the acceleration of transaction speeds and automation may trigger severe fluctuations similar to 'flash crashes', and the stacking of smart contracts can easily produce a risk domino effect. In terms of regulation, the legal recognition of tokenized assets varies greatly across countries, making cross-border transactions susceptible to compliance obstacles. Additionally, its complexity makes it difficult for regulatory agencies to monitor risks in a timely manner, posing potential threats to financial stability.
