Asset Tokenization: The Thriving Trend In Finance​

Did you know that asset tokenization will revolutionize the financial industry in the coming years? Did you also know that nearly every asset can be tokenized? 

Post date: 19/05/2023 – by author

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Tokenization, an essential part of digital assets, is gaining momentum. It is expected to significantly impact the financial industry thanks to its benefits in increasing liquidity, cost-effectiveness, and transaction transparency. 

What exactly is asset tokenization?

Asset tokenization is the process of converting physical assets into digital tokens using a blockchain that makes it secure and transparent. These digital tokens represent ownership rights for holders and the value of the underlying assets.

More importantly, they are tradable on digital asset exchanges and are unique in small units; thus, people can own portions of the assets called  “fractional ownership.”This means they are more accessible to investors. Holders are required to store them in digital wallets.

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How is Tokenization Making Investing More Accessible?

These are examples of assets that can be tokenized.

Real estate

Real estate is the most popular tokenized asset because of its tangibility and high value. All kinds of real estate are tokenizable, such as residential, commercial, industrial, or land, to improve liquidity in the market.

Art

There are digital tokens backed with art, such as paintings of famous painters, which are highly valued. They are easily stored, transferred, and track ownership using blockchain.

Securities

Security tokens represent ownership in a company, like company stocks, but are more liquid and accessible to retail investors. These are some examples:

  • Private equity
    Several private equities are reserved for high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors. Through tokenization, accredited investors can access more private equity investment thanks to its low unit price.
  • Venture capital
    Venture capital investments have a significant barrier to retail investors, as they are typically only accessible to accredited investors. Similarly to private equity, tokenizations help budgeted investors easily access this type of security.
  • Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
    By tokenized REITs, projects can quickly raise more funds from retail investors thanks to their relatively stable and high yields and popularity in the financial market.
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Commodities

  • Precious metals
    Digital tokens are an option for investment in physical gold, silver, and other precious metals, bullions, or coins. They are more accessible and do not require physical storage, which decreases the security risk for holders.
  • Agricultural products
    Agriculture products such as wheat, corn, soybeans, palm oils, etc., can typically trade in a substantial volume in the market. With tokenization, more investors can access these commodities without requiring physical ownership or storage. 
  • Energy resources
    Energy resources such as oil, gas, coal, or water can also benefit from tokenization. It lowers the entry barriers from high investment funds and expertise to navigate complex regulatory requirements for investors.

Intellectual property

In traditional investment, intellectual property rights such as patents, copyrights, or trademarks are highly inaccessible to investors. Tokenization gives investors more investment opportunities and allows businesses to monetize their intellectual property assets.

From Fine Art to Gold Bullion: Real-World Use Cases of Asset Tokenization

The first-ever Art Security Token (AST) of Picasso's “Fillette au béret"

A Picasso painting called “Fillette au béret” was tokenized as Art Security Tokens (ASTs) for the first time in 2021 by Synum, the world’s first digital bank asset in Zurich. There were 4,000 digital tokens sold to over 50 investors for 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,040) per token.

These tokens were not Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as they represented ownership of the physical artwork of Picasso.

The Perth Mint Gold Token (PMGT): An Australian Government-Accredited Gold Bullion Token Backed by Physical Gold

The Perth Mint Gold Token (PMGT) represents one gram of gold stored at The Perth Mint, which the Australian government has accredited. Token holders can exchange digital tokens for physical gold and are listed in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). PMGT is secure and insured by Lloyd’s of London. It’s a convenient option for gold bullion investment for investors.

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Conclusion

In the era of the digital economy, asset tokenization is about to transform the financial industry by facilitating new investment opportunities and increasing accessibility and liquidity to traditional assets. Thanks to blockchain technology, investors can own fractional portions of assets securely and transparently. Since we will see emerging asset tokenization cases and relevant regulatory frameworks in many countries, it is worth considering whether you should add digital assets to your investment portfolio.

It may be time to invest in a masterpiece art tokenization like Vincent van Gogh’sGogh’s painting. What do you think?

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