{"id":862455,"date":"2025-07-14T19:12:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T00:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/14\/real-world-asset-tokens-are-the-new-etfs-coinfund-president\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T19:12:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T00:12:12","slug":"real-world-asset-tokens-are-the-new-etfs-coinfund-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/14\/real-world-asset-tokens-are-the-new-etfs-coinfund-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Real-world asset tokens are the new ETFs \u2014 CoinFund president"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tokens are a new financial wrapper, akin to the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that debuted on US exchanges in 1993, Christopher Perkins said. <\/p>\n

\"Real-world<\/picture><\/div>\n
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Real-world asset (RWA) tokens can democratize access to investments previously inaccessible to retail traders, similar to how exchange-traded funds (ETFs) expanded retail access to financial instruments when they debuted in 1993, according to Christopher Perkins, president and managing partner of investment firm CoinFund.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe tokens are the new ETFs,\u201d Perkins told Cointelegraph in an interview. The executive said tokenized RWAs<\/a>, which trade 24\/7 on globally accessible markets<\/a>, reduce the information asymmetry that has typically kept retail investors out of private placements under existing accreditation laws<\/a>. He added:<\/p>\n

\u201cOrdinary people cannot access private markets. They’re private by their nature. And if you look in the US today, about 81% of companies \u2014 this is a BlackRock stat \u2014 with $100 million in revenue are private.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Essentially, that leaves ordinary people, normal people, very little access to what are the most exciting, the most innovative companies,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\"ETF,
Although tokenized stocks are growing, the asset class remains in its infancy. Source: <\/em>RWA.XYZ<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tokenized RWAs offer a compelling use case for blockchain technology that can increase capital velocity, enable equity financing through asset fractionalization<\/a>, create new kinds of collateral for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, overhaul current capital formation structures, and democratize investor access to global capital markets.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>Tokenized equity still in regulatory gray zone \u2014 Attorneys<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Public investment opportunities in TradFi drying up<\/h2>\n

\u201cOur public markets are completely broken right now. The system is not working as it was designed. The number of public companies is decreasing materially,\u201d Perkins told Cointelegraph.<\/p>\n

The number of public companies has fallen by about 50% since the 1990s, according to the executive. \u201cWe are raising less money in public markets, which makes zero sense,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"ETF,
The number of private companies and their combined market cap continue to increase, yet retail investors are still locked out of this asset sector. Source: <\/em>Yahoo Finance<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brokerage platform Robinhood recently debuted tokenized stock trading<\/a> for European customers. As part of the push into tokenized equities, the platform announced it would distribute a small number of OpenAI and SpaceX \u201cprivate equity\u201d tokens to clients.<\/p>\n

The tokens provide retail investors with price exposure<\/a> to the underlying private companies but no stake in the actual businesses or voting rights.<\/p>\n

OpenAI was quick to warn any prospective tokenholders that the tokens do not represent a stake<\/a> in the AI firm and that the company did not approve the tokens.<\/p>\n

Despite this, private companies continue to express interest in being listed<\/a> on the tokenized platform, according<\/a> to Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev.<\/p>\n

Magazine: <\/strong><\/em>TradFi is building Ethereum L2s to tokenize trillions in RWAs: Inside story<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n