Global Bond Market Could Drive 1,300x Growth in DeFi, Says Omni Founder

Co-founder of Omni Foundation Austin King believes tokenization will reshape global finance—but not in the way many expect. After meeting with over 40 traditional finance leaders, King came away thinking that while tokenization is inevitable, its adoption will not happen overnight.

Instead, it will progress gradually, beginning with assets that are easier to digitize. He expects tokenization will likely follow a structured, institution-led path rather than a fully decentralized model.

“This is going to reshape the entire industry—but it won’t happen the way people are expecting,” King said, sharing the BlackRock CEO’s interview on X.

Stablecoins and Treasury Bills Are Already Tokenized

King argues that one of the biggest misconceptions is that tokenization is still brand new. According to him, over $200 billion in assets have already been tokenized on-chain, primarily through stablecoins, which function as tokenized fiat currencies.

Treasury Bills: The Next Big Tokenization Wave?

Going beyond stablecoins, treasury bills are another emerging category. King noted that $1 billion worth of treasury bills is already on-chain. These assets are particularly valuable because of their stability and yield generation. This makes them essential for decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional finance (TradFi) applications.

“In DeFi, protocols usually require USDC as margin. In TradFi, exchanges usually require treasury bills as margin,” King explained.

Regulation and Complexity Will Shape Adoption

Meanwhile, King emphasized that tokenization’s expansion depends on regulation and complexity. Corporate bonds and stocks face strict regulations, which will slow things down for adoption. Additionally, assets with features like yields and dividends require advanced blockchain solutions, making tokenization more challenging.

He sees short-term corporate bonds as the next major asset class for tokenization due to their predictable yield and standardized issuance. With the global bond market valued at $130 trillion, even a small fraction being tokenized could drive massive growth in DeFi.

“The global bond market is worth $130 trillion. If we tokenize even a fraction of that, DeFi could experience 1,300x growth,” King said.

BlackRock’s Fink: Tokenization is Finance’s “Next Big Thing”

In the interview shared by King, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink reaffirmed his belief that the tokenization of financial assets will redefine global markets. Fink emphasized that tokenization could eliminate inefficiencies in stock and bond settlements, improve security, and enhance investment customization.

“We believe the next step going forward will be the tokenization of financial assets,” Fink said. “Every stock, every bond will have its own CUSIP, and it’ll be on one general ledger.” He added that investors would have unique digital identifiers, reducing fraud and enabling instantaneous settlement of transactions.

Fink, who leads the world’s largest asset manager, sees tokenization as a technological breakthrough that could lower costs and increase transparency in traditional finance.

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