Tokenization: A Long Journey to Global Domination, But Here’s How to Get On Board

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Markets

What to know:

  • Grayscale’s research head Zach Pandl said tokenization should be viewed as a long-term roadmap rather than a single trade, with different winners emerging at different stages.
  • Pandl expects early gains to come from institution-centric, permissioned systems like the Canton Network, offering a “slightly upgraded” version of today’s finances.
  • The next stage could be dominated by hybrid models such as Avalanche, and ultimately more ambitious, global and decentralized platforms like Ethereum.

Ah, tokenization! The cryptocurrency world’s favorite new buzzword, floating around like a magic elixir that promises to fix everything from bonds to your bad credit score. Well, Grayscale’s Zach Pandl isn’t buying into the hype just yet. Instead, he suggests that investors should treat tokenization not as a quick-and-dirty trade but rather as an epic journey-a long, winding, unpredictable road with different winners popping up at every pit stop.

Speaking at the prestigious EthCC conference in Cannes (you know, where the crypto elite go to rub elbows), Pandl stated that tokenization is still in its infantile stage. Yes, the process of using blockchain rails to handle everything from equities to bonds is expanding rapidly, but at a modest $27 billion, it still represents a minuscule fraction-about 0.01%-of the global capital markets. Still, no need to panic, as BCG and Ripple predict a meteoric rise to $19 trillion by 2033. Big deal, right?

Of course, the major players-those giant banks and asset managers who keep pretending to know what’s up-are already sniffing around. “Stablecoins and tokenization. That’s all they care about,” says Pandl. But they’re still struggling to figure out where to throw their cash. Guess they haven’t gotten their magic crystal balls to work yet.

According to Pandl, tokenization will unfurl in phases. Yes, phases. Get ready for different networks and models to capture value in different periods. So, which networks will claim the title of tokenization king? Well, let’s break it down.

The first batch of winners will look eerily similar to today’s financial systems. What a surprise. Turns out, the earliest phase will be all about institutional, permissioned systems that focus on privacy, identity, and control. You know, the things you thought crypto would be free from-centralization, gatekeepers, and all the fun stuff.

Pandl pointed to the Canton Network (CC) as a potential early winner. Backed by the crème de la crème of Wall Street-think Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq, and others-Canton might be the “reasonable investment” for those with itchy trigger fingers. It’s a “slightly upgraded version” of today’s financial systems, which might as well be called “slightly less revolutionary.”

The second phase

Ah, the second phase. Now things start to get interesting. Pandl predicts that hybrid models will take over, with a combination of institution-owned blockchains and a global shared state. Think Avalanche (AVAX)-a bunch of corporate chains (subnets, if you’re into technical jargon) connected to a main network. Sounds cool, right? A perfect mix of the old guard and new tech, bound to make everyone feel warm and fuzzy inside.

And then, there’s Ethereum. Oh, Ethereum. Pandl isn’t exactly ready to crown it the king just yet, saying the network’s move toward “global decentralized finance” is a slower, more ambitious investment. After all, the technology isn’t quite there yet. And let’s be honest, institutions aren’t exactly chomping at the bit to jump in, either. But hey, if you’ve got the patience (and a lot of faith), ETH might be your long-term play.

Finally, there are those picks-and-shovels investments. Pandl suggests looking into chain-agnostic service providers like Chainlink, which might even turn out to be more “compelling” than some of the blockchains themselves. Who knew the real gold might be in the background work?

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2026-04-01 14:51