Tokenised representations of assets are reshaping the transmission of value by converting ownership rights into digital tokens recorded on distributed ledgers. Benoît Cœuré of the Bank for International Settutions has described tokenisation as a structural innovation with the potential to increase liquidity and enable fractional ownership across asset classes. The World Economic Forum has likewise identified tokenisation as a mechanism that can unlock previously illiquid assets. The relevance lies in altered access to capital, changes in market intermediation, and evolving legal interpretations of property and securities.
Tokenisation and core mechanisms
Advances in distributed ledger technology and programmable smart contracts create the technical conditions for tokenisation, while demand for broader investor access and efficiency drives adoption. Primavera De Filippi of the National Center for Scientific Research and the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard has explored how blockchain-based governance can reshape rights and contractual enforcement. Infrastructure choices determine environmental and territorial footprints, with settlement venues and custody arrangements concentrating activity in specific jurisdictions and cultural markets such as urban real estate, art provenance networks, and regional commodity markets.
Risks, governance, and distributional effects
Regulatory frameworks and market design will define the pace and social distribution of benefits. Gary Gensler of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has emphasized that many token offerings raise established securities law issues, underscoring investor protection and market integrity concerns. The Bank for International Settlements has highlighted potential impacts on financial stability and market structure, including novel channels for contagion if tokenised markets remain fragmented across legal regimes. Governance models embedded in smart contracts alter traditional fiduciary roles and may redistribute control among issuers, custodians, and dispersed token holders, with consequences for corporate governance and cultural patronage systems.
Territorial and cultural implications
The transformation of asset ownership through tokenisation interacts with place-specific legal systems and cultural practices around property and inheritance. Fractionalised art ownership changes patronage and community engagement with cultural heritage, while tokenised land or housing markets interact with local planning and social norms. The combination of technological capability and regulatory choice will determine whether tokenisation becomes a tool for broader inclusion or a source of concentrated advantage, requiring coordinated policy responses and industry standards from supervisory authorities and market infrastructures.
