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Tokenisation moves beyond fiat as Kraken exec says anything can be money

Written by Brie CarterPublished dez. 25 2025Last Updated dez. 25 2025

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Blockchain tokenisation is redefining the concept of money beyond traditional fiat currencies, according to a senior executive at Kraken.

Kraken head of consumer Mark Greenberg said digital assets now allow people to save, trade and move value in almost any form.

I think we’re past the point where money only means fiat or your local currency.

Mark Greenberg said.

He argued that tokenisation allows virtually any asset to function as money within digital markets.

Anything can be money.

Mark Greenberg said, pointing to the flexibility enabled by blockchain systems.

He said users can now save value in tokenised equities, cryptocurrencies, foreign currencies or commodities.

Examples cited included tokenised shares linked to Tesla, Bitcoin holdings and even digital gold.

Greenberg said this shift represents a fundamental expansion of how people interact with financial assets.

Kraken has been among exchanges pushing beyond pure crypto trading into tokenised real-world assets.

The company’s xStocks product offers tokenised equities to users outside the United States.

Greenberg said the xStocks platform has already attracted more than 80,000 wallets.

Since launching in the second quarter, tokenised stock trading on Kraken has generated roughly $14 billion in volume.

Other major exchanges are pursuing similar strategies to broaden user engagement.

Coinbase and Gemini have both rolled out tokenised stock offerings.

Exchanges are also expanding into prediction markets as part of a wider push beyond spot crypto trading.

Data from RWA.xyz shows around $415 billion worth of real-world assets are currently tokenised on-chain.

Consultancy forecasts suggest the tokenised asset market could expand significantly over the next decade.

Boston Consulting Group estimates the market could reach $16 trillion by 2030.

McKinsey & Co has projected a more conservative figure of $2 trillion over the same period.

Greenberg said tokenisation also offers major efficiency gains compared with traditional finance.

He highlighted the speed of transferring tokenised assets between platforms

If you’re trading equities here in Canada, moving assets from one broker to another can sometimes take weeks or even months.

Mark Greenberg said.

He contrasted that with crypto-based transfers, which can settle in seconds.

Greenberg said blockchain systems enable instant settlement for equity transactions.

He argued this addresses long-standing inefficiencies in securities infrastructure.

Traditional settlement systems have remained largely unchanged for more than 50 years, he said.

Tokenisation is increasingly being embraced by mainstream financial platforms.

Robinhood is developing its own tokenisation offering.

Robinhood is focusing on tokenising private company shares such as OpenAI and SpaceX.

Coinbase is building a real-world asset tokenisation platform aimed at institutional clients.

The company has described the initiative as part of its ambition to create an “everything app.”

Industry observers say tokenisation could blur the line between crypto and traditional finance.

As adoption grows, digital assets may increasingly compete with conventional forms of money.

Greenberg said the shift reflects changing expectations around speed, flexibility and access.

He argued tokenisation gives users more control over how they store and move value.

The trend suggests money is becoming less defined by geography or currency type.

Instead, value is increasingly shaped by what can be tokenised and transferred on-chain.

At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $87,721.20.