The performing chief of the U.S. Workplace of the Comptroller of the Forex (OCC), Michael Hsu, mentioned he’s optimistic concerning the transformative potential of tokenization however continues to be cautious of the crypto as a consequence of excessive ranges of threat.
Hsu made the assertion throughout a chat on the DC Fintech Week in Washington on Nov. 7.
Whereas the vast majority of his time was spent speaking about banking supervision, he additionally highlighted the advantages of tokenization in streamlining the settlement of funds and securities. Then again, he dismissed cryptocurrencies as a speculative asset class that is still a dangerous enterprise.
Tokenization is promising
Hsu believes that tokenization gives a ground-breaking resolution to a essential monetary problem that has plagued the human monetary system for millennia — settlement.
Hsu mentioned:
“Tokenization is concentrated on fixing an precise drawback, and that drawback is settlement.”
Hsu defined that within the conventional monetary world, each asset switch entails a number of intermediaries and checks to confirm its validity earlier than it may be formally settled within the recipient’s palms.
These layers of verification processes typically include extra prices that will finally be borne by the client, including a component of threat to the transaction. Moreover, these processes are sometimes mired in legacy programs and methodologies, including important delays and dangers.
In accordance with Hsu:
“Tokenization holds the promise to break down that and to simplify it — if it’s accomplished proper.”
He added that there’s increasingly curiosity in tokenization, and the OCC is internet hosting a symposium on tokenization in February additional to determine basis for the know-how’s utility.
Crypto is just too dangerous
Nonetheless, the performing chief’s optimism about tokenization is accompanied by reservations relating to the broader cryptocurrency business.
Hsu highlighted the rising disconnect between tokenization and cryptocurrencies, characterizing the latter as primarily pushed by speculative features. He added that:
“There appears to be increasingly of a divide between crypto on one hand and tokenization of real-world belongings on the opposite.”
The performing chief mentioned that cryptocurrencies convey with all of them kinds of threat elements that establishments are hesitant to have interaction with. Hsu added that the business remains to be primarily fueled by hypothesis and the will to earn money.
Hsu additionally highlighted that KYC (Know Your Buyer) points don’t have an effect on tokenization, whereas its virtually unimaginable to inform who owns a specific pockets on a blockchain. He additionally expressed skepticism relating to the illicit monetary exercise within the business, saying:
“It nonetheless stays replete with frauds, scams, and hacks.”
Hsu mentioned that applied sciences want to unravel real-world issues to achieve traction among the many populace, and crypto remains to be in search of the issue it could actually remedy.
Hsu’s stance displays the regulatory challenges going through the cryptocurrency business, which has encountered points associated to investor safety, market manipulation, and the absence of clear regulatory frameworks.
Regardless of the improvements and potentials inside the crypto area, the prevalence of fraudulent actions has remained a big concern for regulators and buyers alike.