A revolution brews in Finance, promising to blow up the old walls of Wall Street and bring assets such as stocks, bonds and even skyscrapers on blockchain. It’s called tokenization and it can basically change how we own, act and think about value. To understand what this means to the average person, we broke down the concept and talked to Ken Dicross, co -founder of blockchain interoperability platform wire network, about the future of a tokenized world.
1. What is tokenization, really?
Tokenization takes a real asset, as a proportion of the Tesla share, and transforms it into a digital token living on a blockchain.
What is a blockchain? Think of it as a super secure, shared digital headbook that cannot be easily manipulated. It is the same technology that strengthens cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
By putting a stock in this secure digital wrapping, it can move faster, more freely and with fewer middlemen over the Internet. As Ken Dicross puts it, the goal is simple: “It really brings all assets in this world on chain, which is exactly where they should be.”
Is this like buying Tesla stock as a crypto coin? Or something else hero?
It’s not a meme — coin. You don’t buy a lookalike or fan-made token. You buy a digital representation of an actual share, supported 1: 1 of the right thing. It should legally give you the right to the same benefits as dividends, although this depends on how it is issued and regulated.
What is the difference between owning a tokenized stock and a regular share through, for example, Robinhood?
On Robinhood, your warehouses are locked into their system. However, a tokenized stock is laptop. You can keep it in a personal digital wallet, shop globally 24/7 or even use it in new types of apps, such as Defi (decentralized financing) lending platforms. It’s like owning digital cash instead of store credit locked to a particular store.
2. Why does this mean something?
What problem is tokenization that the current stock market does not?
The current system is slow, fragmented and limited by gatekeepers. Stock trades can take days to settle and you are limited by geography and banking hours. Tokenization breaks these boundaries, creating what Dicross describes as a seismic shift in the possibilities.
“It’s like playing Super Mario back in the 90s, where you could only go one direction,” explains Dicross. “And then they come out and they go like Mario now open the world. Like, do what you want. It’s literally, like the big shift.”
Is this about access, speed, cost or control?
All the above. The ultimate goal is to unlock assets for everyone. For dicross, tokenization can reveal the true market value of an asset by massively expanding who can own it.
“I want to pose that we may not know the actual true value of a skyscraper in Manhattan right now just because there are still restrictions,” he says. “If the more you can give access and fraction … to where a farmer in Iowa can own part of it, I guarantee that it will drive value and prices higher.”
3. Cases in the real world
Where is tokenization actually used today? Can anyone buy Apple stock on chain right now?
Yes, but it’s complicated. Some offshore platforms are already offering tokenized versions of larger stocks, but these are largely inaccessible to US investors due to strict rules. The real action happens behind the scenes, where financial giants such as JPMorgan and Franklin Templeton are already using their own private blockchains to tokenize assets such as money market funds and bonds, proving that the technology works on scale.
How close are we to people dealing with tokenized stocks in the same way they buy Bitcoin or NFTs?
Closer than most people are aware of. The technology is clear, but regulation is the bottleneck. If regulators such as Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) create clear rules for tokenized securities, the adoption may be quick. Think 1-3 years for early use in scale and 5+ years to make it mainstream.
4. Risks, not only rewards
What are the biggest risks of tokenized stocks?
Regulatory uncertainty is the biggest obstacle. If regulators find a platform illegal, investors could lose access to their assets. There are also technology risks. As Dicross notes, “This is code used instead, you know, to write down, like the deed of who owns what.” While he believes that this digital risk is preferred rather than the analogue world’s risk of losing a physical document, it is still a risk.
How do you prevent fraud or manipulation on a blockchain?
A blockchain’s transparency helps by showing any transaction in public. But you still need human and legal layers: verified deputies who actually have the underlying stock, proper audits and regulatory supervision. Blockchain does not eliminate the need for trust; It just changes the architecture.
5. The great picture and the future
Some people say tokenization will ‘eat Wall Street.’ Is it real or just marketing?
It’s a bit of both. Tokenization does not replace Wall Street, but it will force it to modernize. Dicross believes the large companies will adapt by launching their own blockchains and tokenized products.
“You may not have the same section of the cake. It can be less … It means you have a smaller sample of something even bigger now,” he predicts.
What does the stock market look like in five years if tokenization goes mainstream?
Imagine buying a stock 24/7 from your phone anywhere in the world. Settlement is immediate. Fees are close to zero. You can use your assets across different apps to shop, borrow or borrow without waiting days or handle paperwork. That’s the vision. For dicross, it will be a world of countless blockchains, all need to speak the same language, a problem that his company aims to solve.
“I hope there is, I’m like, a billion chains,” he says. “We just know that it must be standardized that no matter what chain you are on, is able to trouble talking to the chain that everyone else is on.”
The future is not a chain to rule them all. It is a fragmented world of digital assets, sewn together by infrastructure that most people never see.
Tokenization may not eat Wall Street. But it certainly sits at the same table.