Tokenization Revolution: How Digital Currencies Reshape Real Assets and Global Finance. Post-Dollar Era of On-Chain Finance: Will the Future Be Dominated by Digital Dollars?

2025.04.08

As the global financial system undergoes profound changes, we stand at the threshold of a new era—asset tokenization. This irreversible process is reshaping the definition of value, its flow, and the foundation of monetary systems. Just as the advent of digital currencies brought significant transformations, asset tokenization will lead to a massive shift and wealth transfer.

By converting real-world assets into digital tokens, the liquidity and transparency of global assets will reach unprecedented levels, breaking the limitations of traditional financial systems. This not only provides individuals and institutions with more investment opportunities but also redefines global wealth distribution, driving the decentralization and democratization of financial markets.

1. Asset Tokenization is Changing the World

Asset tokenization refers to converting real-world assets, such as real estate, artwork, equity, bonds, commodities, and intellectual property, into programmable digital tokens through blockchain technology. These tokens can represent partial or full ownership of the assets and can be traded, transferred, pledged, or yield dividends globally. This process greatly enhances asset tradability, transparency, and security while reducing transaction costs.

Core features of asset tokenization include:

• Traceability: Blockchain verifies ownership and transaction history.

• Divisibility: High-value assets can be broken into smaller portions, enabling broader participation.

• Liquidity: Global trading without centralized intermediaries, 24/7.

• Automation: Smart contracts facilitate asset management, rights allocation, and compliance control.

Multiple digital currency platforms, including Ethereum, Solana, Algorand, Stellar, Tezos, Polymesh Network, Chainlink, and Ripple XRPL, support the tokenization of real-world assets, offering various technical standards like Ethereum's ERC-20 and ERC-721, or XRPL's native NFT standards.

The tokenization process involves selecting the appropriate platform and token standard, conducting compliance and asset valuation, minting tokens via smart contracts or platform APIs, registering them on-chain, distributing tokens to user wallets (either self-custodial or third-party), and managing tokens through open markets or private platforms for trading, staking, issuance, or dividend management.

Asset tokenization isn't just about "on-chain" assets; it represents the beginning of a new digital-native asset era.

As regulations loosen and more practical use cases emerge, asset tokenization is expected to gain rapid traction over the next decade. This process will further accelerate the digitization of sovereign currencies (digital dollars, digital yuan, etc.), reshaping the global financial landscape and changing how assets and currencies flow. This is not only an innovation in financial instruments but may also lead a global financial revolution.

2. Asset Tokenization Drives Digital Currency Rise, Undermining Dollar's Dominance

With more assets flowing on-chain, platforms like Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Stellar are becoming the new global financial infrastructure. These platforms signify not just technological advancement but also a profound shift in the global financial ecosystem. They support not only digital currency trading but also provide the infrastructure for traditional asset tokenization, driving the digital-native and global circulation of assets.

By leveraging smart contracts and decentralization, these platforms redefine asset trading logic, eliminate intermediaries, lower transaction costs, and enhance transparency and security. They break down geographical and time zone barriers, enabling assets to flow globally, 24/7, greatly improving liquidity.

Ethereum, one of the earliest smart contract platforms, allows vast amounts of assets, including real estate, stocks, and art, to be digitized and traded globally. XRP and Solana attract large enterprise applications due to their efficient consensus mechanisms and low transaction costs, particularly in payments and cross-border transactions. Stellar has demonstrated strong potential in international payments and cross-border transfers, driving financial inclusion in emerging markets.

As assets circulate on these platforms, the value of these digital currency platforms will significantly rise.

However, the rise of this new system directly challenges the traditional settlement currency—the dollar:

• Cross-border settlements no longer rely on the dollar and SWIFT system: Businesses and individuals can use stablecoins or cryptocurrencies for global settlements, bypassing traditional financial channels.

• Various digital currencies replacing the dollar as the new medium of exchange: Stablecoins like USDT and USDC are widely used for trading and settlement, becoming "alternatives to the dollar."

• Effectiveness of financial sanctions diminishes: Countries restricted from the dollar system (e.g., Iran, Russia) are turning to on-chain trading systems.

• Assets valued in token form, decoupling from dollar pricing: In decentralized markets, asset prices can be anchored to BTC, ETH, USDT, or other non-dollar units.

3. Entering the "Post-Dollar Era" of On-Chain Finance

Faced with the challenges posed by asset tokenization and the rapid rise of digital currencies, the U.S. government is not sitting idle. For example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated several key lawsuits against the crypto industry.

One of the landmark cases was the lawsuit against Ripple (XRP), where the SEC claimed that XRP tokens were unregistered securities, demanding Ripple be held accountable for illegal fundraising. This lawsuit, which dragged on for years, had a major impact on Ripple, causing XRP's price to plummet and sparking widespread debate over "which digital currencies are securities."

The SEC has also filed lawsuits against major platforms like Coinbase and Binance, accusing them of listing unregistered securities tokens, violating U.S. financial regulations.

These actions reflect the U.S. government's attempt to exert control over the digital currency ecosystem within the traditional financial framework, aiming to slow the de-dollarization trend.

However, such judicial and administrative "regulatory blockades" have not truly halted the growth of digital currencies. On the contrary, they have spurred more decentralized, cross-border solutions, making the digital currency ecosystem increasingly independent of traditional regulatory systems—asset tokenization and on-chain finance are swiftly moving from the periphery to the mainstream.

We are now witnessing a new trend:

The global financial system is gradually transitioning from the traditional "dollar-centric" order to a decentralized network of "on-chain asset free pricing."

This emerging "post-dollar era" is taking shape. It doesn't mean the dollar will completely exit the historical stage but that the dollar will no longer be the only settlement unit or valuation benchmark. Its global monetary hegemony is undergoing structural loosening.

4. The Dollar's Counterattack: From Hegemon to Digital Transformer

With Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, the U.S. government's stance on digital currencies is undergoing a subtle shift. Unlike previous strategies focused on "regulation," the Trump administration is now more inclined to reshape the dollar's international position by taking "control of asset digitization."

This strategic change may signify:

• The U.S. will loosen extreme regulation of the digital currency market.

• Support the development and application of a digital dollar, backed by the Federal Reserve or official entities.

• Promote the digitization of the dollar as the "anchor" for global asset tokenization, maintaining its dominant position in the new financial system.

This shift from suppressing alternatives to actively participating in building the new system signals a deeper transformation: digital currencies are no longer the end of the dollar but the next phase of its evolution.

The U.S. is preparing to embrace the asset digitization process, transforming the dollar into the digital dollar (Digital Dollar).

5. The Next Decade: Coexistence, Competition, and Integration of Multiple Systems

The next decade will usher in an era where multiple digital currency systems coexist, compete, and integrate. This new situation may resemble the dual-track system of the dollar and gold in the mid-20th century when both currencies coexisted and balanced each other until the collapse of the Bretton Woods system.

Now, centralized digital currencies (like digital dollars and digital yuan) and decentralized digital currencies (like Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP) will operate simultaneously for some time, gradually finding their place in the global financial system.

Just as the dollar and gold once coexisted in a dual-track system, competing and complementing each other, we may witness competition and coexistence between these two digital currency systems, addressing each other's shortcomings. Centralized digital currencies can provide regulatory and stable monetary policies for countries, while decentralized digital currencies enable the free flow of global assets and more efficient cross-border transactions.

Ultimately, this coexistence will lead to a deep integration of the traditional financial system and the emerging digital currency system, potentially driving reforms in global monetary policies and financial infrastructure, similar to the reconstruction of the global monetary order after the collapse of the Bretton Woods system.

6. Will the Future World Be Dominated by Digital Dollars?

With the Trump administration easing regulation on digital currencies, the U.S. may launch the digital dollar during its term.

This move will mark a strategic shift for the U.S. in the digital currency field. The launch of the digital dollar will not only meet the demands of the digital currency era but also be a crucial step for the U.S. to maintain its global financial dominance.

If the digital dollar is successfully launched and widely adopted, we may move toward a "blockchain world" dominated by the digital dollar.

In this new world, the dollar will no longer be in paper form but as a "digital dollar" circulating on the blockchain. It will enable real-time settlement, automated transactions, and value transfer through smart contracts, becoming one of the core units of global financial transactions.

Traditional assets may still anchor to the "dollar" for value computation, but this "dollar" will no longer be limited to traditional paper currency or digital accounts. It will circulate and be traded through smart contract-driven digital tokens.

This transformation will not only enhance the liquidity and transparency of assets but also reinforce the dollar's dominant position in the global financial system. The evolution of the traditional dollar system will create a new "financial programming language" that will underpin global economic activities and become the infrastructure for all financial transactions, asset management, and cross-border payments. Through blockchain technology, the dollar will circulate more efficiently and securely globally, without relying on intermediaries or traditional banking systems, providing stronger technical support and lower transaction costs for global economic activities.

However, this is not just an upgrade of financial tools but also the continuation and redistribution of financial power in the new era. The launch of the digital dollar may further enhance the U.S.'s influence in the global financial system. It represents the digitalization and intelligence of the dollar and, through technological and institutional innovation, provides the U.S. with an opportunity to reshape global economic rules.

The digitization of the dollar may allow the U.S. to maintain its leadership in the global financial system while also deeply influencing other countries' monetary policies and economic development, further intensifying the international financial power struggle and redistribution.

In this context, the digital dollar will not just be "money." It will become part of the global financial system, promoting a more decentralized, efficient, and transparent world, while providing new guarantees for America's long-term dominance in the global economy.

Conclusion:

Digital currencies are the entry point, but asset tokenization is the true starting point for the new financial order. In this world, shaped by on-chain code and global consensus, whoever controls the power of "anchoring" will define the financial rules for the next century.

Digital currencies are the entry to financial system reforms, but asset tokenization is the real starting point for reconstructing the new financial order. By converting real assets into digital tokens, global asset liquidity, transparency, and tradability will greatly increase, breaking the high barriers and inefficiencies of traditional financial systems.

In this world driven by on-chain code and global consensus, whoever controls the "anchoring" power will define future financial rules.

This "anchor" could be digital currencies (such as digital dollars, digital yuan, etc.) or decentralized assets (such as Bitcoin), or even precious metals like gold and silver, or a basket of asset combinations. These will determine the core structure of the global financial system.

For ordinary people, seizing the opportunities brought by asset tokenization and digital currencies, and positioning themselves early, could potentially lead to a leap across social classes.

In the future financial system, digital assets and decentralized technologies will provide more individuals with equal participation opportunities, breaking the concentration of traditional wealth and promoting wealth redistribution. Those who master this era's opportunities will have the chance to redefine their wealth and social status!