Trump Launches Personal Token, Crypto Market Attracts Follow

Recently, Trump announced on social media the issuance of his personal meme coin $Trump, once again attracting the attention of global investors to the crypto market. If he returns to the White House, Trump may usher in a new era of US encryption regulation, encouraging more institutions to engage in the wave of crypto innovation. Some industry insiders believe this sends a signal to other countries: the US is ready to lead in this industry once again, and other countries need to be vigilant, or they may fall behind.

Key Factors in the Development of RWA Tokenization

Tokenization is gradually moving from concept to reality, referred to by some consulting firms as the "third revolution in asset management". It is expected that this field will experience explosive growth in the coming years. Research institutions predict that by 2025, the scale of non-stablecoin tokenized assets will exceed $30 billion.

As one of the global financial centers, Hong Kong is also actively embracing the wave of RWA tokenization. The policy address for 2024 proposed to promote RWA tokenization and the construction of a digital currency ecosystem, and relevant regulatory agencies have also launched plans to encourage the capital market to adopt tokenization technology. These initiatives indicate that Hong Kong aims to reshape its financial competitiveness through tokenization and take the initiative in future competition.

However, the main driving force behind global tokenization innovation still comes from the United States. Traditional financial institutions in the U.S., represented by Wall Street, are not only directing traditional funds onto the blockchain through Bitcoin spot ETFs but are also leveraging tokenization to accelerate the on-chain transition of traditional financial assets and businesses. Several large financial institutions are igniting the first wave of tokenization, which will have a global impact.

In comparison, Hong Kong has yet to see the emergence of institutions or projects with global influence in the tokenization field. Although Hong Kong has been proactive in promoting tokenization policies, the participation of traditional financial institutions in Hong Kong is relatively low compared to the United States, and they maintain a cautious attitude towards the Web3 industry, remaining more in a wait-and-see mode. This has resulted in Hong Kong having ample financial resources, but the potential for innovation in tokenization has not been fully realized.

To change this situation, Hong Kong could consider attracting more traditional institutions to participate through a more open Tokenization sandbox mechanism, conducting innovative and market-potential cutting-edge practices. At the same time, stablecoins, distributed ledger technology, and other related explorations could be jointly included in the sandbox for pilot testing, encouraging institutions to freely explore Tokenization applications based on their own advantages.

The Importance of Focusing on Standardized Financial Assets

In addition to stimulating market innovation, Hong Kong also needs to clarify its development focus on tokenized assets. Global exploration of tokenization mainly focuses on standardized financial assets. Although Hong Kong has made some explorations in fund and bond tokenization, the most attention is currently on the tokenization of non-financial assets such as renewable energy and agricultural products. While these explorations contribute to the long-term development of the tokenization ecosystem, it is difficult to establish a market advantage in the short term.

Bonds, funds, and other standardized financial assets with stable returns and considerable scale are currently the most suitable asset classes for tokenization. Therefore, Hong Kong should focus on these assets in the short term and fully leverage its geographical and institutional advantages as an international financial, trade, and shipping center, with a particular emphasis on tokenization applications in trade and cross-border related scenarios, rapidly expanding the RWA tokenization market scale.

In terms of technology selection, although some institutions choose private chains due to regulatory reasons, more financial and tech giants are embracing public chains. Public chains significantly outperform other technical systems in terms of global liquidity and openness, and have become the preferred platform for most Tokenized bonds and funds. Under the premise of compliance, Hong Kong should explore Tokenized applications and innovations on public chains more actively.

Conclusion

RWA tokenization, as a product of the integration of two different financial systems, ideally allows real assets to accelerate their migration to the blockchain while ensuring their value is not limited to the blockchain, ultimately serving and reflecting reality. In the face of proactive actions by global financial institutions in the tokenization field, Hong Kong needs to seize the opportunity. If it can leverage its institutional and market advantages to accelerate the embrace of innovation while exploring a balance between providing traditional institutions with more space for innovation and regulatory compliance, Hong Kong is expected to gain a competitive edge in the tokenization field. It is estimated that the potential scale of tokenized assets in Hong Kong has reached as high as 36 trillion HKD, with broad prospects for future development.