#CryptoRoundTableRemarks

I am delighted to speak to this distinguished group at today’s roundtable on tokenization.[1] Thank you to the panelists for participating today.

The topic of this afternoon’s discussion is timely as securities are increasingly migrating from traditional (or “off-chain”) databases to blockchain-based (or “on-chain”) ledger systems.

This movement of securities from off-chain to on-chain systems is akin to the transition of audio recordings from analog vinyl records to cassette tapes to digital software decades ago. The ability to easily encode audio in a digital file format, which could readily be transferred, modified, and stored, unlocked tremendous innovation within the music industry.[2] Audio was freed from its boundaries as a static, fixed-format creation. It suddenly was compatible and interoperable across a wide range of devices and applications. It could be combined, broken apart, and programmed to form entirely new products. This also led to the development of novel hardware devices and streaming content business models, greatly benefiting consumers and the American economy.[3]