Asset tokenization is marking a turning point in the financial world. It is a process that converts real goods—such as real estate, cars, works of art, or raw materials—into digital tokens within a blockchain, allowing anyone to invest in them without needing large sums of money.
What is asset tokenization?
Tokenization consists of representing a physical or financial asset in a fractional digital version. Each token represents a part of the asset and can be bought, sold, or transferred as if it were a share.
Example: an apartment valued at 100,000 dollars can be divided into 1,000 tokens of 100 dollars each. This way, a group of investors can access the property without having to acquire it fully.
Main advantages
Democratized access: small savers can invest in high-value assets.
Immediate liquidity: selling tokens is simpler and faster than selling an entire property.
Transparency: by being registered on the blockchain, all operations are recorded and verifiable.
Diversification: the investor can spread their money across different tokens (example: part in real estate, part in art, and part in commodities).
Cost reduction: intermediaries like notaries or banks are eliminated in many transactions.
- Use cases around the world
Real estate in Europe and the U.S.: entire buildings are already tokenized, with hundreds of investors owning “digital fractions” of the properties.
Digital and physical art: works by recognized artists are tokenized, allowing multiple people to share ownership.
Agribusiness in Latin America: startups are working on tokenizing soybeans, corn, and even cattle heads to provide financing for producers.
Corporate debt: companies are beginning to issue tokenized debt to attract capital more efficiently and globally.
- The situation in Argentina
In the country, adoption is still in its early stages, but there are already signs:
Fintech and local brokers are experimenting with tokenized assets to bring international investments through CEDEARs on the blockchain.
In the agriculture sector, some companies are exploring tokenizing agricultural production, which would allow financing campaigns without solely relying on banks.
Young investors are showing great interest in this model because it combines investment + technology + digital access.
- The pending challenges
Uncertain regulation: there is still no defined legal framework in Argentina or many other countries regarding how to tax tokens backed by real assets.
Public trust: more traditional investors are still wary of this model.
Technological infrastructure: a solid foundation is required to avoid fraud and ensure security.
Market volatility: although the token is backed by a real asset, trading on secondary markets can bring price fluctuations.
Is this the future of investments?
Everything indicates that tokenization will be a key tool in the next decade. It allows a student to invest in part of an apartment in CABA, a rural producer to finance their agricultural campaign through tokens, or a collector to share ownership of a piece of art with hundreds of people around the world.
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