Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) sees the tokenization of real-world assets as a powerful tool for attracting capital, but warns of a critical issue: issuing tokens across multiple blockchains fragments liquidity and undermines market efficiency.
The tokenized asset market is experiencing a surge: over the past 30 days, the value of such instruments has grown by 2.16%, reaching $38.4 billion. At the same time, the number of holders has increased at an impressive pace — by 79.74%, to 2.379 million. However, the total value of represented assets has declined by 4.66%, to $342.63 billion, indicating uneven development in the sector.
Zhao promotes the idea of global tokenization
In Zhao's view, tokenization is a direct path for states to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). He poses a rhetorical question: what country or company would refuse the opportunity to sell tokenized shares worldwide? This position is not new — he has previously advised the authorities of Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan on digital asset regulation, offering similar solutions.
The fragmentation problem
The main risk Zhao highlights is liquidity fragmentation. Issuing assets across multiple blockchains at once creates isolated pools, which increases operational costs and reduces the market's appeal to large investors. Financial infrastructure giants have already warned of such threats — Clearstream, DTCC, and Euroclear, together with Boston Consulting Group, dedicated a separate report to this issue, noting that fragmentation "locks up" assets and makes transactions more expensive.
Zhao himself is optimistic: he believes that as the number of participants grows and interchangeability between issuers increases, the problem will be resolved naturally. "Fragmentation can be partially solved if there is high interchangeability between different issuers, and this is important," he emphasizes.
Other industry leaders also express support for tokenization. This week, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev called it the best way to modernize the U.S. financial system.
My view: Zhao's optimism is understandable, but fragmentation is only the tip of the iceberg. Without unified compatibility standards and clear regulation, tokenization risks becoming a set of isolated experiments that cannot deliver the liquidity for which it is all undertaken. The market needs not just new networks, but infrastructural bridges between them.