Tokenization Is Doing to Finance What Digital Did to Media, But Faster

Tokenization could reshape global finance at a pace that outstrips the digital revolution that transformed traditional media, according to crypto industry executives who argue that putting real-world assets onchain is no longer a theoretical exercise but an accelerating structural shift.

According to Cointelegraph, Keith Grossman, president of crypto payments firm MoonPay, likened the current moment in finance to the late 1990s, when digitization upended newspapers, music, and broadcast media.

Rather than eliminating incumbents, he said, digital distribution forced them to evolve, and tokenization is poised to have a similar, but faster, impact on financial institutions.

In Grossman’s view, the transition is already well underway. Major asset managers are rolling out tokenized investment products, global banks are testing onchain settlement and tokenized deposits, and blockchain infrastructure is increasingly being used to move value in real time. “This is no longer hypothetical,” he said, pointing to tokenized funds and blockchain-based settlement pilots as evidence that traditional finance has crossed from experimentation into execution.

Tokenization refers to the process of representing real-world assets, such as bonds, funds, commodities, or real estate, as digital tokens on a blockchain. Advocates argue that this shift unlocks new efficiencies by enabling around-the-clock market access, reducing intermediaries, lowering transaction costs, and shrinking settlement times from days to minutes.

Those advantages are starting to translate into real market activity. Excluding stablecoins, the tokenized real-world asset sector has grown into a multibillion-dollar market, with most activity concentrated on public blockchains such as Ethereum. Supporters say the appeal lies not only in cost savings, but in the ability to make traditionally illiquid or geographically constrained assets globally accessible.

Regulators are also beginning to adapt to the implications of a financial system that never sleeps. In the United States, regulators have acknowledged the need for frameworks that support continuous, 24/7 markets, a sharp break from legacy systems built around fixed trading hours and delayed settlement. That shift reflects a broader recognition that blockchain-based infrastructure could eventually underpin capital markets themselves.

Market plumbing providers are taking note as well. The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which processes trillions of dollars in transactions annually, has received regulatory approval to begin introducing tokenized financial instruments. Its initial focus is expected to include US Treasuries and equity indexes, with rollout plans targeting the second half of 2026.

Grossman argues that, much like media companies that embraced digital distribution early, financial institutions that move quickly to integrate tokenization will be best positioned to thrive. Banks and asset managers are unlikely to disappear, he said, but their roles will change as blockchain rails handle more of the mechanics of issuance, settlement, and custody.

“The winners won’t be the ones trying to stop the shift,” Grossman said, “but the ones building for it.” As tokenization gains momentum, the comparison to digital media disruption may prove apt, except this time, the transformation of finance could arrive even faster.