Tokenization

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev predicts tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) will revolutionize global finance, impacting equities and real estate. He believes major markets will establish frameworks within five years. Robinhood already offers tokenized U.S. stocks in the EU. Tenev sees tokenization increasing liquidity and democratizing investment access. He anticipates a merger between cryptocurrency and traditional finance, driven by the advantages of blockchain technology. While Europe may lead in regulation, the trend seems unstoppable with involvement from institutions like Morgan Stanley and BlackRock.

World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto venture linked to the Trump family, announced at Token2049 its plans to launch a debit card and explore tokenized commodities. CEO Zach Witkoff highlighted the debit card aiming to bridge crypto with traditional spending, and their active work on tokenizing assets like oil and timber. WLF also launched USD1, a stablecoin reportedly among the top five globally. Donald Trump Jr emphasized WLF’s independence, while Witkoff noted USD1’s potential to boost demand for U.S. Treasuries. The company plans to launch USD1 on the Aptos blockchain.

Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, has received a $50M strategic investment from Nasdaq ahead of its IPO this week. Nasdaq aims to provide custodial services for financial institutions engaging with crypto, leveraging Gemini’s infrastructure. Gemini will become a key distribution partner for Nasdaq Calypso. This move follows Nasdaq’s SEC filing for tokenized stock trading, demonstrating a broader embrace of digital assets by traditional finance and aiming to maximize Gemini’s valuation. Gemini held over $21 billion in assets as of July.

Amber International (Nasdaq: AMBR), operating as Amber Premium, has launched its Real World Asset (RWA) Solution, a full-stack platform designed for institutional regulatory compliance in tokenizing real-world assets. This turnkey solution aims to enhance security, liquidity, and programmability while facilitating the entire asset lifecycle, from issuance to liquidity management. Key features include structuring & governance frameworks, smart contract automation, cross-chain interoperability, bank-grade custody, and DeFi strategies. The RWA solution seeks to bridge traditional finance and DeFi, signaling Amber’s commitment to serving institutional investors in the digital asset space.

Above Food Ingredients (ABVE) is merging with Palm Global Technologies, with ~90% shareholder support. ABVE appointed CBIZ CPA to regain Nasdaq compliance. Palm Global partners with Promax United to tokenize $1.5T in sovereign assets and launch a gold-backed stablecoin ($350B US gold). Fifteen African nations may adopt the stablecoin as official currency, adding over $100B in assets to Palm Global’s balance sheet. ABVE faces Nasdaq delinquency but anticipates audit completion within 4-6 weeks.

Robinhood is expanding its global reach with stock and ETF tokens for EU investors, marking a significant entry into the European market. The company is also developing its own Layer 2 blockchain for tokenized assets. Additionally, Robinhood is launching crypto perpetual futures in the EU and crypto staking for US customers, further broadening its crypto offerings and aiming to make investing more accessible worldwide.