In a noteworthy shift within the cryptocurrency landscape, major exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance are intensifying their focus on the tokenization of real-world assets. This movement comes as the broader crypto market experiences a downturn, yet the value of assets distributed on-chain has surged nearly 300% year over year.
On a recent Tuesday, Coinbase announced a partnership with Yahoo Finance that enables the direct linking of crypto tickers to its exchange. This integration allows users to trade both digital assets and tokenized stocks. The collaboration is intended to deepen the connection between Coinbase”s data and Yahoo Finance”s platform, reflecting a broader trend of integrating digital assets with traditional investment vehicles.
“This partnership addresses a clear shift in investor behavior toward considering digital assets alongside traditional investments,” stated George Leimer, general manager of Yahoo Finance, in a press release.
Tokenization refers to the process of converting real-world assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate into digital tokens on a blockchain. This process creates on-chain records of ownership, facilitating swift transfers, trading, and utilization in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
The total value of real-world assets utilizing blockchain as a distribution layer has seen a substantial increase, growing from $6.3 billion to $25 billion in just one year, according to data from RWA.
Coinbase highlighted in its announcement that this integration enhances the legitimacy of digital assets in the investment community. “Our Everything Exchange vision is about removing artificial boundaries between asset classes and building for the next generation of markets,” the company stated.
On the same day, Kraken introduced regulated tokenized equity perpetual futures contracts designed for non-U.S. clients. These new contracts offer up to 20x leverage, providing clients on both the Kraken and Kraken Pro platforms with continuous access to tokenized assets. Mark Greenberg, Kraken”s Global Head of Consumer, commented, “Regulated tokenized equities as perpetual futures represent a new chapter for global capital markets, where equities, indices, and commodities trade with the same speed, accessibility, and flexibility as crypto via tokenization, delivering a more robust risk management experience.”
Meanwhile, Binance, the leading exchange by volume, has begun offering its own tokenized assets through Ondo Finance. These assets will be accessible via Binance Alpha, a curated ecosystem for early-stage assets that precede full exchange listings. Binance clarified that while these tokens provide exposure to the underlying assets, they do not confer all shareholder rights, such as voting rights.
