The elites at the World Economic Forum (WEF) are ready to launch a new stage of global finance. A model that relies on tokenized assets, programmable money, and blockchain settlement has been promoted by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink for the past several years. A recently minted co-chairman of the forum, Fink declared in October, “We are at the beginning of the tokenization of all assets.”
Not surprisingly, this year in Davos, the idea moved to center stage. The annual meeting hosted three panels devoted entirely to the topic. One asked, “Is Tokenization the Future?” The other was, “Where Are We on Stablecoins?” And, finally, “New Era for Finance.”
Together, they revealed a decisive shift in how digital assets are being repurposed. What began as a decentralized challenge to the financial system is now being folded back into it. The Davos insiders framed tokenization and stablecoins not as disruptive experiments, but as core infrastructure. The ambition is to redesign centralized finance, placing assets, money, and settlement on programmable digital rails governed by institutions that already sit at the center of global power.
Key Definitions
First, some basic definitions.
Cryptocurrency is the starting point. It refers to digital money secured by cryptography rather than by a bank or government. The first and most famous example is Bitcoin. It let users send value directly to one another, without involving central banks or payment intermediaries.
Blockchain is the technology that made this possible. It is a shared digital ledger that records transactions across many computers at the same time. No single party controls it outright. Once information is added, it becomes extremely difficult to change. These systems allow participants who might not trust one another to maintain a common record of transactions. In theory, trust shifts away from institutions and toward code.
Stablecoins emerged as a response to crypto’s volatility. Those are digital coins that link their value to assets such as U.S. Dollar. They aim to combine the speed and programmability of blockchain transactions with the stability of traditional money. In practice, most depend on centralized issuers, custodians, and reserve assets held within the existing financial system.
Tokenization goes one step further. It involves representing real-world assets (RWA) as digital tokens on a blockchain. Stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, infrastructure projects, and even U.S. sovereign debt can all be tokenized.
This logic does not stop with financial assets. Natural resources such as forests, water rights, minerals, and biodiversity can be converted into digital units that represent usage rights, conservation credits, or future claims. Carbon credits tied to forests, including the Amazon rainforest, already function this way in early form.
Ownership, settlement, and record-keeping shift onto programmable digital systems. That aligns perfectly with the broader vision of a Fourth Industrial Revolution that seeks to fuse “physical, digital, and biological spheres.”
What the WEF Says
At Davos, the tone was pragmatic and confident. According to a report by PYMNTS titled “Davos Power Brokers Say Tokenization Is Finally Working,” panelists argued that tokenization has moved beyond experimentation.
“A panel at the World Economic Forum said tokenization is gaining momentum as costs fall and cross border frictions shrink,” the report noted. Stablecoins, they said, are “emerging as the first scaled use case.”
The discussion stressed continuity, not disruption,
Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain framed tokenization not as a rupture with existing market structures, but as a natural evolution that expands access while lowering costs.
She said it can “reach out to a bigger range of investors” while “reducing the time to market” and “reducing the cost of issuing.”
Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong struck a similar tone: “Tokenization addresses structural inefficiencies in the financial system, particularly around settlement speed, fees and access.”
Armstrong, managing the largest publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, highlighted what he called a global “unbrokered” population of roughly four billion adults who lack access to quality investments.
Brad Garlinghouse, the chief executive of Ripple, a firm focused on blockchain-based cross-border payments for financial institutions, reinforced that view. He said stablecoins are tokenization’s first real success.
Yet enthusiasm came with conditions. French central bank governor François Villeroy de Galhau stressed the need for control: “Regulation is not the enemy of innovation … it’s a guarantee of trust.”
Unregulated private money, he warned, could threaten monetary sovereignty. Central banks, he argued, must provide a “public anchor,” per the report.
Binance and the Return of CZ
Crypto’s institutional turn was underscored by the presence of Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ. He is the founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
Recently pardoned by Donald Trump, CZ appeared at Davos to discuss what already works in crypto and what he sees coming next. His remarks reflected how far the industry has moved from its early outsider phase.
He said two parts of the crypto ecosystem have already proven themselves at scale: exchanges and stablecoins. He described a third component, tokenization, as “a huge one,” adding that he was particularly excited about its potential.
“I’m talking to probably a dozen governments about organizing some of the assets,” Zhao said.
Tokenization, he argued, would allow governments to “realize financial gains first.” While he did not name specific countries or assets, the concept points to a model in which states could raise funds by selling tokenized portions of government-owned property. CZ added,
[Through tokenization, the states] can improve the efficiency of the financial system while also spurring the development of related industries and trading markets.
Surely, such models raise questions about who benefits most. Tokenized public assets would still require capital to purchase, potentially concentrating gains among the wealthy rather than the broader public.
Looking ahead, Zhao outlined three frontiers. The first is state-level asset tokenization. The second is crypto operating as an invisible payment rail behind familiar cards and apps. The third is AI agents transacting autonomously, using digital assets as native money.
Binance exited the U.S. market in 2023 following a sweeping settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Zhao pleaded guilty to criminal charges tied to failures in preventing money laundering. Despite that history, the company may now be positioning itself for a return to the U.S. market.
U.S. Situation
Within the past year, the Trump administration and Congress laid the foundation for this “new era of finance.” While publicly rejecting the Federal Reserve-issued digital dollar — which may change in the future — Washington moved to legitimize digital money through law and executive action.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order blocking federal agencies from issuing or promoting a central bank digital currency. The order framed CBDC as a risk to privacy and individual freedom. At the same time, it encouraged the use of blockchain technology and private digital assets under regulatory oversight.
Congress reinforced that direction. Lawmakers passed the GENIUS Act, which created a federal framework for payment stablecoins backed by U.S. dollars and Treasuries. They also advanced the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which clarified how digital assets are regulated and which agencies oversee them.
In America, the largest stablecoin issuers include Circle, Tether, Paxos, and World Liberty Financial, known as WLFI, whose leadership includes President Donald Trump.
