Tokenization to unlock interoperability across payments, investments

As a seasoned crypto investor with a background in finance and technology, I find the intersection of payments and investments through tokenization an exciting development. The potential to seamlessly blend these two aspects of financial transactions opens up new opportunities for yield generation and increased accessibility to various financial products.


In the not too distant future, the distinction between paying with conventional money and investing in assets through tokens could become less clear-cut. This blurring line is brought about by the process of tokenizing assets, which enables one to make payments or investments using shares from tokenized funds. For instance, instead of settling a dinner bill with cash or credit, you might pay part of it using stocks derived from a tokenized investment fund.

At the TokenizeThis 2024 conference in Miami on May 9, Rob Durscki, Stellar Development Foundation’s senior director of tokenization, made a prediction. He expressed that the connection between payments and investments would pave the way for innovative functionalities within financial offerings. According to Durscki’s statement:

“What we’re seeing now with partners like Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, and others issuing this new round of assets on-chain is that they want to unlock yield, […] but they also want to make it almost seamless to use as a payment tool as well.”

The process of transforming the control or proprietorship of a tangible asset, such as real estate or stocks, into a digital token on a blockchain is referred to as tokenization. This conversion results in a virtual depiction of the asset, granting the possibility for fractional ownership, enhanced liquidity, and broader accessibility to financial instruments for smaller investors.

As a crypto investor, I can easily cover the dinner bill without delay using funds from my Franklin Temple account through Stellar. It only takes 3.6 seconds to send you $20. Don’t worry if you overlook this, as you’ll still earn an annual return of around 5% to 6% on our dining expense. The seamless blend of investment and payment comes from the fact that we are essentially transferring value between us. We’re unlocking the potential for swift and efficient value transfer.

Tokenization to unlock interoperability across payments, investments

Bradley Chase, Vice President of Engineering at Ripple, took part in the discussion and shared insights on the latest customization tendencies arising among enterprise clients. He mentioned that an increasing number of businesses are looking to accept stablecoin payments and keep tokens in their on-chain wallets as a means to earn extra income.

“Those customers now have their own customers that want to pay in stablecoins and they want to hold those stablecoins. So that’s kind of the simplest on and off-ramp gateway for them into the space.”

As an analyst, I’ve discovered that over $1 billion US Dollars’ worth of U.S. Treasurys have been tokenized across Ethereum, Stellar, and other blockchains. Ripple’s latest projection suggests that tokenized markets could potentially expand to a staggering $16 trillion in the upcoming years. This projected value is eight times greater than the current market capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency sector.

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2024-05-09 20:31