Millennials?—?who have been drivers of the “sharing economy”?—?have exhibited a growing distaste for ownership in general. Whether it is car-rides, living quarters, office space or even luxury watches, millennials simply prefer “access” or “sharing” to “ownership”.
Because of this fundamental move away from ownership, the sharing economy is estimated to grow from $15 billion to $335B by 2025.
Anyone who believes that “sharing societies” will not significantly impact equity markets would be amiss. As farfetched as it may sound to some, we are headed towards a future civilization where owing stock is deemed less favorable to trading tokens for goods and services.
Think about it. Investors do not buy stocks for the purpose of possessing them. People don’t wear stocks. They don’t hang them on their walls. They don’t live in their stocks. They certainly don’t drive around in them. People don’t even take hold of stock certificates anymore. People buy stocks with only one goal in mind: to eventually liquidate them at a higher value. That’s it. Crypto offers them the exact same ability and much, much more. With crypto providing the potential for appreciation as well as other perks, the allure of holding equities is diminished?—?if not eliminated altogether.
5. Reason number 5: Because the tokenization of everything
Everything is eventually going to be tokenized?—?our currency, our businesses, our homes, our cars, our art, our patents, our insurance policies and yes, even our equities. In fact, all securities will be tokenized. Hell, even our ideas, our decisions and the food we eat will soon be tokenized. Essentially, if it can be shipped, shared or tracked, it’ll be tokenized.
Why? Because tokenization fosters efficiency. In the same way that the assembly line transformed manufacturing, crypto will revolutionize global commerce. Once people sort through all the clutter and confusion and realize that tokenization is simply a highly advanced electronic record keeping system, attitudes about crypto quickly shift from apprehension to acceptance. Some even become inspired by it?—?imagining the many ways in which crypto could impact humanity. It’s amazing how just a small dose of understanding can turn fear into enthusiasm.
What I personally find most promising is the implementation of tokenization to democratize the financial system. Tokenization brings fractionalization and liquidity to alternative?—?often highly illiquid?—?asset classes. It enables small retail investors the ability to access assets that were previously unattainable. It also helps them monetize assets that were difficult to liquidate in the past such as real estate. But, most importantly, tokenization will ensure that America’s emerging businesses?—?the lifeblood of job creation and innovation?—?have greater access to capital, the people’s capital.
With the fate of the small IPO hanging in the balance, equity tokenization will accomplish more than revolutionize small business capital formation, it will save it.
Dara Albright is a recognized speaker, writer & influencer on FinTech, RegTech, Digital & Crypto Finance and the founder of Dara Albright Media.