Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has once again addressed the topic of tokenizing real-world assets (RWA), calling it a powerful tool for attracting capital into national economies. However, in his view, the industry faces a critical issue that could undermine the entire potential of this direction. This refers to issuing assets on multiple blockchains simultaneously, which, as Zhao emphasizes, leads to liquidity fragmentation.
Global tokenization: new opportunities for states
Zhao views tokenization as one of the most effective ways for countries to stimulate inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI). He poses a rhetorical question: what government or corporation would refuse the opportunity to sell tokenized shares worldwide? This idea is already finding practical application — Zhao is advising the authorities of Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan on digital asset regulation, and has previously made similar proposals to other governments.
The RWA market continues to demonstrate steady growth. According to my data, over the past 30 days, the value of tokenized real-world assets has increased by 2.16%, reaching $38.4 billion. Notably, the number of holders of such assets has grown even more significantly — by 79.74%, to 2.379 million. This indicates growing interest from retail investors, although the total value of represented assets has somewhat declined (-4.66%, to $342.63 billion).
The fragmentation problem: the main risk to the ecosystem
Despite supporting tokenization on any blockchain, Zhao warns of serious consequences from multi-chain issuance. Issuing the same asset on multiple networks creates isolated liquidity pools, which increases operational costs and complicates interaction between market participants. This issue has already been analyzed in detail by financial infrastructure giants such as Clearstream, DTCC, and Euroclear, together with Boston Consulting Group. Their report emphasizes that fragmentation "locks" assets within separate ecosystems.
Zhao himself is optimistic: he believes that fragmentation is a temporary phenomenon. As the market develops, issuers will learn to interact with each other more efficiently, leading to high interchangeability of assets. "Fragmentation can be partially solved if there is high interchangeability between different issuers, and that is important," he notes.
Interestingly, Zhao is not alone in his support of tokenization. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev this week called it the best way to modernize the US financial system. However, as practice shows, it is precisely the issues of compatibility and standardization that will be key to further scaling this technology.
My comment: The fragmentation problem is indeed the "Achilles' heel" of tokenization. Without universal standards and cross-network bridges, the market risks turning into a set of isolated "digital offshore zones," which would negate blockchain's main advantage — global accessibility. Investors should closely monitor the development of interoperability protocols, as they will determine who becomes the leader in this new financial paradigm.