Trump memecoin sparks follow, tokenization wave sweeps the globe

Recently, Trump announced the issuance of his personal memecoin $Trump on social media, once again igniting global investors' interest in the crypto market. Some believe that if Trump returns to the White House, it could usher in a new era of crypto regulation in the U.S., encouraging more institutions to engage in the wave of crypto innovation. Some industry insiders have stated that this move sends a signal to other countries that the U.S. is ready to lead in this sector.

Tokenization: A New Revolution in Asset Management

Tokenization is gradually moving from concept to reality, referred to by industry insiders as the "third revolution of asset management." It is expected that in the coming years, tokenized assets will experience explosive growth. Research institutions predict that by 2025, the scale of non-stablecoin tokenized assets will exceed $30 billion.

As one of the global financial centers, Hong Kong is also actively embracing this trend. The 2024 Policy Address proposes to promote RWA tokenization and the development of a digital currency ecosystem, with relevant regulatory bodies introducing incentives to encourage the capital markets to adopt tokenization technology. These measures indicate that Hong Kong hopes to reshape its financial competitiveness through tokenization.

However, the main force driving global tokenization innovation still comes from the United States. Wall Street institutions not only provide traditional capital with access to the crypto market through Bitcoin spot ETFs, but also actively promote the tokenization of traditional financial assets and businesses. Several large financial institutions are initiating the first wave of tokenization, which will have a global impact.

In contrast, Hong Kong has yet to see the emergence of institutions or projects with global influence in the field of tokenization. Although policy support is positive, the participation of traditional financial institutions in Hong Kong is relatively low, and they remain cautious about the Web3 industry. This means that while Hong Kong possesses abundant financial resources, its potential for innovation in tokenization has not been fully realized.

To promote development, Hong Kong could consider attracting more traditional institutions to participate in tokenization innovation through a more open sandbox mechanism. At the same time, related explorations such as stablecoins and distributed ledger technology could be included in a unified sandbox for joint pilot projects, encouraging institutions to freely explore various tokenization applications based on their own advantages.

Focus on standardizing financial assets and expanding the RWA market size

In the selection of tokenized assets, Hong Kong needs to further clarify its development focus. Global tokenization exploration is mainly concentrated on the standardization of financial assets, while Hong Kong's current focus seems to be more on the tokenization of non-financial assets such as new energy and agricultural products. Although these explorations may contribute to the long-term development of the ecosystem, establishing a market advantage in the short term is difficult.

Research shows that standardized financial assets such as bonds and funds, which have stable returns and considerable scale, are the most suitable asset categories for tokenization at this stage. Therefore, Hong Kong should focus on these standardized financial assets in the short term and fully leverage its advantages as an international financial, trade, and shipping center, with a focus on tokenization applications in trade and cross-border related scenarios, in order to rapidly expand the market size of RWA tokenization.

In terms of technology selection, although some institutions choose private chains due to regulation, more financial and technology giants are embracing public chains. Public chains have obvious advantages in global liquidity and openness, and have become the preferred platform for most tokenization bonds and funds. In terms of security, asset tracking and auditing on public chains have also become more convenient. Therefore, Hong Kong should explore tokenization applications and innovations on public chains more actively under the premise of compliance.

RWA tokenization, as a product of the integration of traditional finance and blockchain technology, must promote the migration of real assets onto the chain while ensuring that their value is not limited to the chain, ultimately serving and reflecting the real economy. In the face of proactive actions by global financial institutions in the field of tokenization, Hong Kong needs to seize the opportunity and accelerate innovation. If it can leverage institutional and market advantages while providing traditional institutions with more innovative space and exploring a balance with regulatory compliance, and relying on the massive asset support from the mainland, Hong Kong is expected to establish a dominant advantage in the field of tokenization. It is estimated that the potential scale of tokenized assets in Hong Kong has reached 36 trillion HKD, with broad prospects.

The industry expects Hong Kong to achieve rapid development in the RWA field by 2025, showcasing an "acceleration".