Name: From real estate to art: Why everything is being tokenized
Uploaded: 2026-01-20T16:21:54.949Z
Duration: 4 min 48 s
Description: Real-world assets are being turned into digital tokens, often traded without middlemen - which could make markets faster, cheaper, and more accessible.

Real-world assets are being turned into digital tokens, often traded without middlemen - which could make markets faster, cheaper, and more accessible.

Tokenization allows individuals to own fractions of assets such as real estate, art, and infrastructure by converting them into digital tokens on blockchains. This process increases liquidity, enables 24/7 trading without intermediaries, and is projected to expand the tokenized asset market from nearly one trillion euros today to over ten trillion euros by 2030.

Countries are developing regulations and standards to manage the growing market, with regions like the UAE and Europe already implementing rules and others establishing testing environments. Experts highlight the need for harmonized global regulation to ensure market stability and investor protection, as tokenization is expected to encompass over 60% of global assets by 2040.

From real estate to art: Why everything is being tokenized

Owning a slice of this, this, or this without buying the whole thing sounds futuristic. It's called tokenization. Tokens and coins are not the same thing. Coins run on their own blockchains, a secure shared online record system. They act as digital money and pay for network activity. Tokens are built on existing blockchains and can represent assets, access platforms, or even voting rights. If I put an apple pie in front of you, can you eat the whole thing? I don't think so. But if you slice it into eight slices, you can either have it in eight days, seven or eight days, or you can give it to eight people and finish off so that doesn't get spoiled or stale. You have now tokenized the apple pie. In finance, tokenization means converting things like real estate, art, or infrastructure into tradable units. Tokenization is the digital twin of a real world asset. So think about when you were younger and used to write letters, you then move on to email. The email is the digital version of a letter. In the same way, tokenization is the digital version of a share, a bond, or any type of asset that you might think of. Tokenization makes assets easier to trade and available 24-7 without a middleman. This makes the financial system more efficient and cheaper. And the market for tokenized assets is booming. Today, it's worth nearly one trillion euros, and in 2030, it's going to be worth over ten trillion euros. But a rising market needs regulation. If we don't have standards, it's all going to be anarchy. Nobody will be able to really control the market. It's going to be a wild beast then. What we need now is bringing all these standards, bring everybody together. Again, it's not easy because everybody says, mine is the best. Why should I take another country? It's ego. Ego should be put aside for the betterment of the financial and the digital world. Countries are moving quickly to regulate tokenization. The UAE and Europe already have rules in place. The UK, India, Singapore, and Switzerland have set up sandboxes, controlled environments where companies can safely test tokens. This is important because there are many different types of tokens. Utility tokens give access to services, security represents ownership, governance lets users vote, NFTs certify unique assets, and stablecoins certify digital money. Dubai, for example, they say we are only 25% of Dubai, 75% of Dubai still to be built. How you raise alternative finance, the best way is token because they accept it here. Regulations are in place. Tokenization is moving beyond niche markets into mainstream finance. What we are seeing at the moment is tokenization across the value chain. Investment banks are starting to build infrastructure to tokenize deposits or bonds. So I think it is happening across the entire ecosystem of material assets, of things you can touch on your own. But tokenization brings risks, some old, some new. If I could wish for anything, it would be for regulatory certainty and harmonized certainty because I believe that in a world that is global, as financial markets are, as tokenization is, not having harmonization not only will mean that it won't develop as quickly as it could and we won't reap the benefits of it in their entirety, but we also put investors at risk. Despite the uncertainties, the potential of tokenization is enormous. By 2040, I personally feel that more than 60% of the world's assets, financial and otherwise, will be tokenized. Maybe not in 10 years' time, maybe in 20, 30 years' time, it may even replace financial markets as we know them.

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