Why? Because the essence of tokenization is to issue a Token on the chain that represents real-world assets, and ensuring a strong connection between the Token and the underlying assets is the most fundamental and challenging aspect. Taking physical assets as an example, like Maotai liquor - how do you verify that this bottle of Maotai actually exists? If it is consumed, damaged, or is fake, the trust bond between the Token and the asset is broken.
In comparison, financial assets - especially standardized assets like fund shares - can clearly guarantee the binding relationship between the Token and underlying assets through legal frameworks, and are easier to regulate and custody. This is why we currently only choose financial assets as the object of RWA.
Another core question is: Why tokenize? This is not a decision driven by "trends", but must have clear financial logic and practical significance. We believe the core value of RWA has two aspects:
First, lowering barriers and expanding investor access. Previously, some high-threshold asset categories were only accessible to institutions, but through tokenization, ordinary investors can also hold shares of such assets.
Second, improving efficiency, including transaction convenience and cost reduction. If tokenization does not bring obvious improvements in liquidity, efficiency, or security, it loses its meaning. For example, tokenizing a bottle of Maotai would not bring any additional benefits and would only increase complexity and cost.
Take real estate, for instance. Although there are mature paths for securitization through REITs, whether further tokenization is truly necessary still requires analyzing the underlying value logic. If it cannot bring new financial advantages and is merely "going on-chain" for the sake of being on-chain, I believe it is unsustainable.
In summary, when doing RWA, the first thing to solve is "why to do it", then "what to do" and "how to do it". Only tokenization that brings real value is worth promoting.
4. Advice for Traditional Financial Institutions
Kay: This is indeed a very valuable sharing for every practitioner present. Especially for friends exploring issuance through RWA, Mr. Zhou's perspective reminds us to think about the most essential questions. On this basis, I would like to ask Mr. Zhou, do you have any practical experience to share with traditional financial institutions who are still hesitant? For institutions still wavering about entering, what basic capabilities do you think they need? Do you have any recommendations or experience in organizational structure, talent reserves, or technology selection?
CG: First, I believe RWA is indeed a trending track with high certainty. As a traditional financial practitioner, we have seen many "trends" in the Web3 field over the past few years - whether in technology, ecology, or application layers, many projects come and go quickly, and it's difficult to judge their sustainability. However, among all Web3 directions, RWA is the path closest to traditional financial logic and most likely to achieve large-scale implementation, connecting real-world assets with on-chain infrastructure in a way we can understand and evaluate.
Therefore, for traditional financial institutions, RWA is a direction worth investing in. Recommendations include establishing a dedicated innovation group or Web3 business unit in organizational structure; in terms of human resources, reserve hybrid talents who understand both finance and on-chain mechanisms; technologically, there's no need to build everything from scratch, but choose a trustworthy, secure, and compliant collaborative platform - such as HashKey, which is very willing to provide support and cooperation in this regard.
We look forward to more traditional institutions joining in and jointly promoting the establishment and maturation of the RWA ecosystem.
5. Conclusion
Kay: Institutional entry into Web3 is not achieved overnight. It requires finding a viable path within existing regulatory frameworks and striking a balance between innovation and stability. The collaboration between Taiping and HashKey Chain is just a beginning. We believe that in the near future, we will see more traditional financial assets achieving more efficient circulation through blockchain, and more institutions truly entering Web3, moving the industry from exploration to genuine maturity. Today's conversation reminds me of a saying: "History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes." From Taiping Hong Kong's practice, we see the harmony between traditional finance and Web3, a combination that carries both compliance's baseline thinking and the courage of innovation.
Thank you, Mr. Zhou, for such a sincere and warm sharing, and thank you to everyone present. We look forward to seeing more Chinese institutions in the wave of on-chain finance. See you next time!
