Key facts
- Tokenized assets are creating new trading opportunities, but liquidity challenges persist.
- Stablecoin adoption for everyday payments depends on user experience and regulatory navigation.
- Fragmentation of liquidity across tokenized markets is a key challenge.
- Crypto venture capital investors face weaker liquidity for exits, especially for altcoins.
Panelists at Cointelegraph's Singapore CONNECT event on Oct. 9 discussed the challenges and opportunities in tokenized markets and stablecoin payments. Alex Taaffe, chief revenue officer at GSR, noted that while tokenized assets like pre-IPO stocks and commodities are opening new trading avenues, the demand for fully tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) has not kept pace with the growing supply. He also pointed to fragmentation of liquidity across different blockchains and asset issuers as a significant hurdle. Lingling Jiang, partner at DWF Labs, concurred on fragmentation issues, particularly when multiple liquidity pools exist for the same asset. On the stablecoin front, panelists explored their potential for everyday payments. Mike Silagadze, founder and CEO of ether.fi, stated that wider adoption depends on seamless integration into daily life and user experience, citing the need for local currency for bills even when holding stablecoins. Yvonne Chia, head of communications at USDD, emphasized making stablecoin usage feel like a regular part of life. Regulatory complexities across jurisdictions were also highlighted by Ilya Podoynitsyn, co-founder and CEO of FinHarbor. Ashna Vaghela, chief customer officer at Mercuryo, envisioned stablecoin payments as being as straightforward as using Apple Pay. The discussion on trading infrastructure revealed that moving liquidity between blockchains remains difficult, with Austin Federa of DoubleZero calling it a data problem. Miguel Morel of Arkham Intelligence suggested onchain data can help assess counterparty risk and compliance. For crypto venture capital investors, Pulkit Gupta of Nomad Capital noted particularly weak liquidity for exits in recent months, especially for altcoins. Sonia Shaw, CEO of OneAsset, indicated that the market has matured, requiring startups to demonstrate stronger fundamentals for longer-term exit expectations.