Tokenization mirrors the $20 trillion ETF boom as blockchain and AI converge, Ondo exec says

“ETFs have been referred to as weapons of mass destruction,” Hoffman mentioned, recalling the skepticism that surrounded the construction earlier than it turned considered one of the dominant methods traders entry markets.

When he joined the ETF trade in the early 2000s, the market held roughly $200 billion in property, he mentioned. Right now, it is almost a $20-trillion world asset class, based on a PwC report.

He mentioned tokenization is following the same path, however a lot quicker than ETFs.

“Each market that digitizes will get bigger,” he mentioned. “And tokenization is actually the digitization of capital markets.”

Constructing for an agent-driven future

For Hoffman, tokenization will turn out to be the basis for what comes subsequent: AI-driven monetary companies.

He mentioned he envisions a future the place autonomous brokers constantly monitor markets and allocate capital via professionally managed portfolios that replace in actual time as situations change.

“Our finish state might be portfolios which might be professionally managed, real-time and adjusting to market circumstances and knowledge adjustments,” he mentioned.

To get there, the trade first wants tokenized property, onchain prime-brokerage infrastructure and asset-management methods that may be executed natively on blockchain networks.

Ondo is constructing towards that imaginative and prescient, he mentioned. The agency already provides tokenized U.S. Treasury merchandise and plans to broaden into shares, ETFs and perpetual futures via its tokenized market.