Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has identified tokenization as a key keyword for the transformation of the financial order. Their diagnosis is that we are moving beyond the fiat-based concept of currency and entering an era where all physical and financial assets function as "money."
“With tokenization, anything can be money,” Mark Greenberg, Kraken’s head of consumer business, told CNBC in a recent interview. “This isn’t just a technological innovation; it’s a shift that’s changing the very concept of money.”
“In the past, money was limited to fiat currencies or specific national or regional currencies, but that’s no longer the case,” he explained. “Tokenized assets can serve as a store of value, can be transferred instantly across platforms, and even financial assets like stocks can be traded in a real-time settlement environment.”
Greenberg specifically emphasized that tokenization directly targets the structural limitations of traditional securities infrastructure. The current securities market suffers from a multi-day lag between trading and settlement, and requires multiple intermediaries and complex settlement processes. He stated, "The securities infrastructure, which has remained largely unchanged for the past 50 years, has become excessively rigid compared to technological advancements." He added, "Tokenization can eliminate these inefficiencies by integrating trading and settlement into a single on-chain process."
This shift is already becoming a reality in the global financial market. Efforts are underway, primarily in the US and Europe, to issue and circulate traditional assets such as stocks, bonds, money market funds (MMFs), and raw materials in token form on blockchains. Tokenized assets are gaining attention as an alternative to the existing financial system, as they can be traded 24 hours a day and significantly reduce cross-border transportation costs and time.
Greenberg's remarks are interpreted as a message that tokenization should be viewed not as a simple extension of the cryptocurrency industry, but as a paradigm shift redefining how money and finance function. He argues that we are moving toward an era where "money" is no longer a currency issued by a specific country, but rather one flexibly defined based on trustworthy assets and technologies.
Industry insiders predict that this trend will likely lead to the growth of stablecoins, tokenization of real assets, and digital securities markets. If tokenization spreads throughout the financial system, it is expected to bring significant changes to existing banking and securities-centric infrastructure, as well as to regulatory and monetary policy discussions.
