Source: Cointelegraph
Original: (Robinhood Executive: Tokenization Makes Investing More Accessible)
Tokenization could open new opportunities for retail investors, allowing them access to traditionally restricted asset classes. According to Johann Kerbrat, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Robinhood Crypto, tokenization is 'very important for financial inclusivity.'
At the 2025 Toronto Consensus Conference, Kerbrat noted that some real-world assets, such as real estate and private equity, are currently only open to 10% of the US population. 'Currently, you need to be an accredited investor to invest in private equity,' he said.
'How many people can afford a house or an apartment in New York?' he elaborated. 'But through tokenization, you can acquire a small portion of that asset, enabling fractional investments. Therefore, we believe this makes trading easier and more accessible for everyone.'
In recent months, Robinhood has been one of the few investment firms or brokerages exploring the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). Other companies include BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Apollo, and VanEck.
Tokenization of real-world assets is often touted as a means to enhance financial accessibility, with most tokenized funds currently focused on private credit and the US Treasury market. According to data from RWA.xyz on May 16, the total market value of on-chain real-world assets is $22.5 billion, with only 101,457 asset holders. On average, each holder has $221,867 in on-chain assets.
Kerbrat also discussed stablecoins, which have become a key use case for cryptocurrency in this cycle. 'You will see 100 types of stablecoins,' he predicted.
Kerbrat expects more 'specialized stablecoins targeting specific markets' to emerge in the future. According to DefiLlama data, USD-pegged stablecoins dominate the stablecoin space. The two largest stablecoins, Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, have a total market cap of $211.8 billion, accounting for 87.1% of the total stablecoin market cap of $243.3 billion.
'If you are trying to transfer funds from the US to Singapore, you might use a specific stablecoin,' he said. 'This shift will move from simple stablecoins to platforms managing all these stablecoins.'
Dea Markova, Fireblocks' Policy Director, recently told Cointelegraph that there is growing demand for non-USD pegged stablecoins. In April, Italy's finance minister warned that USD-pegged stablecoins pose a greater risk than US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Related: Fireblocks Survey: 90% of Institutions 'Take Action' on Stablecoins
