How the tables have turned in Washington.
On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission — now led by crypto ally Paul Atkins — held a series of roundtables focused on tokenisation.
That’s the concept that pairs assets like stocks and bonds with digital tokens on a blockchain.
Atkins says he‘s charting a “new day” for crypto with his three-pronged plan to aid the digital assets industry. And the agency continues to host conversations with industry leaders to advance rules of the game in favour of the crypto industry.
It’s a major pivot from SEC policy under former Chair Gary Gensler.
“It was quite something to watch an SEC roundtable yesterday emphasise the need to re-think capital market structures and regulation,” said Noelle Acheson in her newsletter Crypto is Macro Now.
“I confess I get goosebumps.”
That’s because for years, financial giants including BlackRock have been pushing to get financial assets on-chain.
Now, under the administration of US President Donald Trump, who has named a number of pro-crypto figures into key policy roles, those companies are eager for a top spot in the tokenisation trade.
The below nine companies sat down with the SEC to discuss tokenisation.
Here are Acheson’s main takeaways.
BlackRock
The world’s largest asset manager with more than $12 trillion under management has become a de facto ambassador for tokenisation.
In an annual shareholder letter, CEO Larry Fink compared tokenisation to “the transition from postal mail to email.”
BlackRock’s tokenised money market fund, called BUIDL, has ballooned to $2.5 billion.
According to Acheson, BlackRock will “break the long-standing tradeoff investors are forced to make between liquidity and access to full yield.”
Franklin Templeton
Another finance giant that has been quietly tokenising is Franklin Templeton.
The firm launched BENJI in 2021, a yield-bearing token that represents its shares in a $380 million US Treasuries fund.
Its market value is up to $766 million, according to RWA.xyz data.
Fidelity recognises that the system is “riddled with toll takers,” according to Acheson, and that industry leaders forget they have a responsibility to “consider consumer opportunity.”
Nasdaq
The Nasdaq is one of two intermediaries that was present at the SEC roundtable.
Acheson said the firm is “excited about how tokenisation can ease congestion within the system.”
Until 2023, the exchange had plans to launch its own crypto custody platform, but shelved those plans to await regulatory clarity.
Invesco
Invesco has a tokenised private credit money fund on Ethereum and layer 2 network Arbitrum.
The firm also offers Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds.
Acheson said that Invesco’s case for tokenisation lies in that it would “de-risk some aspects of markets by shortening settlement cycles.”
It would also “enhance shareholder communication via smart contracts for dividend distribution,” she wrote.
Superstate
Superstate issues a tokenised treasury fund that includes USTB and USCC, which has a market value of $103 million.
Just last week, it launched Opening Bell, a bid to bring SEC-registered securities on-chain. It will begin trading on Solana.
The firm touted tokenisation as an opportunity for more simple transparency, better investor protection, and as an opportunity to “facilitate tokenised equities opportunities,” wrote Acheson.
DTCC
The Depositary Trust & Clearing Corporation was the second intermediary present at the SEC’s tokenisation roundtable.
Last month, DTCC launched a platform for tokenising collateral, while in 2023 it purchased a tokenisation platform dubbed Securrency.
According to Acheson, the DTCC said that people “may want” faster settlement cycles, and find more efficient ways to collateralise their assets.
Tokenisation might also do away with manual corporate actions, said Acheson.
Apollo
In January, fund giant Apollo Global Management launched a tokenised credit fund across six public blockchains.
The firm, which manages about $512 billion in assets, is also an investor in the tokenisation platform Plume.
Apollo wants tokenisation to gain ground because it can modernise how assets are created, distributed, and managed.
More importantly, Apollo called tokenisation “the next evolution of capital markets,” wrote Acheson.
Tokenised Asset Coalition
The Tokenised Asset Coalition is an industry group with over 40 members, including Coinbase, Circle, and the Solana Foundation.
According to Acheson, there‘s a “whole gap in the middle” where the lowest risk assets and the most speculative assets are the only ones with access to DeFi.
The coalition says the SEC is “in a great position” to take a leadership role amid ongoing government efforts to create regulatory frameworks.
Fidelity
Fidelity has been in crypto since 2014, when it began mining Bitcoin.
Later, in 2018, it launched Fidelity Digital Assets, allowing its clients to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
It is the second largest Bitcoin ETF provider, with $20 billion in Bitcoin and 16% of market share.
Fidelity touted tokenisation as a way to develop new investment structures.
Tokenisation also “allows for more efficient management of capital balance sheets,” by allowing for assets to move across borders outside traditional business hours, wrote Acheson.
Pedro Solimano is a markets correspondent based in Buenos Aires. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected].
