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Hassan Shittu
Journalist
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Founder of Binance Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has stated that several governments are currently engaged in deliberations on tokenizing their assets on blockchain networks.
In a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zhao said that he is negotiating with over a dozen governments to tokenize their state-owned assets, as the next big step in crypto adoption after exchanges and stablecoins.
Zhao positioned tokenization as the next stage of crypto adoption following what he characterized as the initial two industries that have already been put to the test on a global scale: exchanges and stablecoins.
Tokenization Shifts Upstream as Governments Target Liquidity and Control
CZ noted that most other crypto sectors remain comparatively small or experimental.
Tokenization, however, is now being approached by governments as a way to directly capture financial upside from their own assets, rather than outsourcing value creation to private intermediaries.
He explained that governments want to tokenize large asset bases, realize gains earlier through improved liquidity and market access, and reinvest those proceeds into domestic market development and infrastructure.
The discussion places state-led tokenization in a different category from earlier private-sector efforts to tokenize real-world assets.
National assets such as government bonds, commodities like oil or gold, and public real estate can be represented as blockchain-based tokens that enable fractional ownership, continuous trading, faster settlement and automated payments through smart contracts.
For governments, this structure also offers transparency and direct control over issuance and distribution, while keeping financial returns within the public sector.
Zhao’s comments come as several countries and financial institutions are already moving in this direction.
Pakistan’s finance ministry announced plans this month to tokenize up to $2 billion in domestic sovereign debt as part of a broader effort to modernize public debt markets and attract retail participation.
In Europe, the DLT Pilot Regime of the European Union already offers a regulatory framework to trade and settle tokenized securities, and the UK already appoint a dedicated official to support the country’s transition to blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
Tokenization Gains Ground as NYSE and DTCC Move Forward
Traditional market infrastructure is also gaining steam with the NYSE on January 19 confirming that it is in the process of building a platform to facilitate the trade of tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds with 24/7 trading and on-chain settlement, pending regulatory approval.
Zhao publicly welcomed the move, calling it bullish for crypto and exchanges.
Regulatory signals in the United States have also shifted as the Securities and Exchange Commission In December issued a rare no-action letter to the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, allowing it to proceed with a controlled tokenization program covering US Treasuries, ETFs and Russell 1000 equities.
The service is scheduled to launch in late 2026 and will operate on approved blockchains, with the DTCC emphasizing that tokenized assets will carry the same legal rights and investor protections as traditional securities.
Zhao also linked the rise of tokenization to other structural trends as he highlighted payments as another area where crypto is already functioning at scale, particularly through stablecoins.
He further noted that the next stage would be “invisible payments,” where users transact in fiat while crypto rails operate in the background.
Market data suggests tokenization is already gaining traction as tokenized gold products added nearly $2.8 billion in net value in 2025, with total market capitalization rising 177% year over year and trading volumes reaching levels comparable to major global gold investment vehicles.
Analysts see this as evidence that on-chain markets are beginning to absorb liquidity that traditionally flowed through conventional financial products.
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