MAROKO133 Hot crypto: Inside Asia’s Tokenization Race — Why Franklin Templeton Is Betting

📌 MAROKO133 Breaking crypto: Inside Asia’s Tokenization Race — Why Franklin Temple

Tokenization is moving from pilots to practice. The World Economic Forum projected that private equity and venture capital markets could grow to about $700B, which is expected to be tokenized. That potential scale would still reshape global finance.

APAC is already moving ahead. Hong Kong’s spot ETFs drew $400 million on day one. Japan is preparing an SBI-backed ETF with Franklin Templeton. Singapore is setting tokenization frameworks. These ETF milestones matter individually and as stepping stones toward broader tokenization.

Japan’s ETF Push: Retail First, Institutions Later

In an exclusive interview with BeInCrypto, Max Gokhman, Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions (FTIS), explained why retail flows, proxy bets, and sovereign adoption may drive the next phase.

His remarks highlight both opportunities and risks. While ETFs mark the first entry points, the larger story is how tokenization could scale across asset classes and reset market structures. Yet history suggests markets rarely move in a straight line.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) updated its fund guidelines in 2025, creating space for new ETFs with partners like SBI Holdings. Gokhman believes retail will provide the first liquidity. He argues that institutions will follow once secondary markets mature.

While he frames retail as a catalyst, history suggests early flows can fade without robust demand from pensions and funds. Japan’s ETF story illustrates how short-term retail demand can lay the groundwork for tokenized markets that institutions may eventually embrace.

Gokhman stressed that institutions are less interested in fractional LP funds. Instead, they want vehicles that manage volatility and enhance liquidity — the conditions required for large-scale adoption.

“It starts more with the retail level … Retail may need more liquidity, but they also provide liquidity to the institutions once retail gets large enough so that secondary markets really start to flourish.”

Proxy Bets and $2.7B Solana Supply

Before ETFs, investors chased proxies. MetaPlanet disclosed it had accumulated over 15,000 BTC. Remix Point also drew speculative flows. Regulators in Hong Kong warned of leverage and counterparty exposure when spot ETFs launched.

Gokhman noted that Solana’s lending markets already hold $2.7 billion in commitments. This squeezes supply and pushes prices up, which shows appetite but magnifies systemic risk. These proxy bets show that demand is building and explain why regulated tokenized vehicles may be essential for stability.

“Proxy products can use leverage and there’s more counterparty risk. For example, a lot of the Solana debts are buying up more supply — something like $2.7 billion already committed. That raises prices, as more demand meets limited supply. With an ETF, most traditional crypto ETFs are one-to-one—buying a share means it holds the underlying asset on-chain, much like a gold ETF.”

APAC’s Tokenization Edge

APAC markets are moving first, but also deeper. At Token2049 in Singapore, Franklin Templeton executives met family offices and OCIO clients. They asked not for simple exposure, but structured strategies.

Singapore’s MAS has expanded Project Guardian and finalized a framework for tokenized funds, with retail access targeted by 2027. The WEF report estimated that PE/VC markets could reach ~$7T by 2030, with ~10% tokenized (~$0.7T).

ETF progress demonstrates appetite, but APAC’s deeper institutional engagement suggests tokenization is the larger transformation underway. Europe, by contrast, focuses on compliance. The US remains mired in uncertainty.

Gokhman noted that while the US will remain Franklin Templeton’s number one revenue driver overall, APAC clients show greater maturity in digital assets. This split illustrates how global strategies must balance scale in the US with innovation in Asia.

“There’s greater sophistication within APAC relative to Western regions, especially with family offices and OCIO clients. They are not just saying, ‘I want some exposure,’ but asking us to structure it in a particular way, or to walk them through Layer 2 research. APAC is absolutely a key driver for us.”

Geopolitics and De-Dollarization

The BIS has documented a slow decline in dollar dominance. Gokhman argued that Trump-era policies made the dollar less attractive, accelerating demand for digital assets.

He said the backdrop is geopolitical. As the US clashes even with allies, demand for dollars weakens. For cross-border payments, avoiding SWIFT makes blockchain the apparent alternative. That dynamic reinforces digital assets as neutral rails for global transactions. De-dollarization may act as a geopolitical push, making tokenized rails more urgent than ETF adoption alone.

“The Trump administration has actually been really beneficial to creating more demand for digital assets because the dollar is becoming less attractive. Sovereign treasuries are de-dollarizing. As large players come into DeFi and start buying at scale, they will centralize that asset class, which should reduce volatility. An asset class with 30% annualized volatility is far easier to integrate than one at 70%.”

Tokens Don’t Sleep

Unlike traditional assets, which pause on weekends, tokenized assets operate 24/7. Gokhman captured this in one line: “Money never sleeps, but tokens don’t.”

For investor…

Konten dipersingkat otomatis.

🔗 Sumber: www.beincrypto.com

📌 MAROKO133 Breaking crypto: How Bitcoin Hype Left Retail Buyers $17 Billion Poore

A recent 10X Research report has estimated that retail investors lost about $17 billion due to their exposure to Bitcoin treasury companies.

The losses reflect a broader decline in investor enthusiasm for Digital Asset Treasury Companies (DATCOs). Firms such as MicroStrategy and Metaplanet have seen their stocks tumble in tandem with Bitcoin’s recent price slump.

Bitcoin Treasury Firms Wiped Out $17 Billion in Retail Wealth

According to the report, many investors turned to these DATCOs to gain indirect exposure to Bitcoin. These firms typically issue shares at a premium to their underlying Bitcoin holdings, using the raised capital to buy more BTC.

10x Research noted that the strategy worked well when Bitcoin’s price rose, as stock valuations often outpaced the asset’s spot gains. However, as market sentiment cooled and Bitcoin’s momentum faded, those premiums collapsed.

As a result, investors who bought during the frenzy of inflated valuations have collectively lost about $17 billion. The firm also estimated that new shareholders overpaid for Bitcoin exposure by roughly $20 billion through these equity premiums.

These numbers are unsurprising considering BeInCrypto previously reported that global companies have raised over $86 billion in 2025 to buy cryptocurrencies.

Notably, this figure surpasses the total US initial public offerings this year.

Yet, despite this massive inflow, the performance of Bitcoin-linked equities has recently lagged behind the broader market.

For context, Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) MSTR stock has fallen more than 20% since August. Tokyo-based Metaplanet, according to Strategy Tracker data, also lost over 60% of its value during the same period.

Bitcoin DATCOs mNAVs Decline

At the same time, their market-to-net-asset-value (mNAV) ratios, once a measure of investor confidence, have also deteriorated.

MicroStrategy now trades around 1.4x its Bitcoin holdings, while Metaplanet has slipped below 1.0x for the first time since adopting its Bitcoin treasury model in 2024.

“Those once-celebrated NAV premiums have collapsed, leaving investors holding the empty cup while executives walked away with the gold,” 10x Research stated.

Across the market, nearly one-fifth of all listed Bitcoin treasury firms reportedly trade below their net asset value.

The contrast is striking given that Bitcoin recently hit a record high above $126,000 this month before pulling back after President Donald Trump’s tariff threats against China.

Still, Brian Brookshire, head of Bitcoin strategy at H100 Group AB, argued that mNAV ratios are cyclical and do not reflect long-term value. H100 Group AB is the largest Bitcoin-holding firm in the Nordic region.

“Most BTCTCs trading near 1x mNAV have only arrived there within the past couple weeks. By definition, not a norm…even for MSTR, there is no such thing as a normal mNAV. It’s a volatile, cyclical phenomenon,” he said.

Nonetheless, analysts at 10X Research said the current episode marks “the end of financial alchemy” for Bitcoin treasuries, where inflated share issuance once created the illusion of limitless upside.

Considering this, the firm stated that these DATCOs will now be judged by earnings discipline rather than market euphoria.

“With volatility falling and the easy gains gone, these firms face a hard pivot from marketing-driven momentum to real market discipline. The next act won’t be about magic—it will be about who can still generate alpha when the audience stops believing,” 10X Research concluded.

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