Stablecoins and Tokenization Take Center Stage at Permissionless
The chatter at Permissionless this year kept circling back to stablecoins and tokenization—especially during the “Rebooting the Global Financial System” panel. Some panelists even suggested “rebuilding” might’ve been a better word than “rebooting.” But semantics aside, the real discussion was about how these technologies are quietly reshaping finance.
Christopher Perkins, president of CoinFund, tossed around the idea of a “stablecoin summer” leading to a “DeFi fall.” He thinks stablecoins will pull more people into decentralized finance as users chase yield. “Tokenization is the new ETF,” he said. “It’s a wrapper, but with faster settlements and round-the-clock access.” The logic is simple: once money moves onchain, it’ll naturally flow into money markets and other DeFi corners.
Tokenized Stocks: Opening Doors Globally
The bigger story, though, might be tokenized stocks. Santiago Santos from Inversion pointed out how crypto has historically absorbed capital from investors locked out of traditional markets—like someone in China buying ETH as a proxy for tech exposure. “What happens when those investors can just hold tokenized Apple or Tesla onchain?” he asked. The answer, he thinks, is a shift away from speculative assets like memecoins.
Dinari, for its part, just got FINRA approval for its broker-dealer subsidiary, Dinari Securities. Anna Wroblewska, their Chief Business Officer, called it a milestone—they’re now positioned to offer tokenized stocks to U.S. customers by Q3. They’re also working on a blockchain-based ledger system while hashing things out with the SEC.
Ondo Finance’s CEO, Nathan Allman, mentioned plans to launch a platform for tokenized U.S. stocks, bonds, and ETFs next month. Meanwhile, Apollo Global Management’s Christine Moy highlighted efforts to bring private markets onchain, following their January move to tokenize a credit fund.
Where Tokenization Goes Next
A new S&P Global report laid out a rough timeline for how tokenization might unfold. The first phase (2025-2028) would focus on cross-border payments and collateral—think instant asset swaps for cash, which could streamline things like repo transactions. After that, the report suggests tokenization could expand into credit markets, linking borrowers and lenders directly.
None of this is guaranteed, of course. But if even half of it plays out, the financial system might look very different in a few years. Not because of some grand revolution, but because of slow, practical shifts—like traders preferring onchain settlements or investors finally getting access to markets they’ve been locked out of.
For now, though, the conversation is still mostly theoretical. The real test will be whether people actually use these tools—or if they end up as another niche experiment.
