According to Thomas Cowan, head of tokenization at Galaxy, institutional interest in crypto technologies like tokenization is no longer tied to Bitcoin’s price, giving the sector a more stable foundation.
Speaking at The Bridge conference in New York City on Wednesday, Cowan noted that in recent months there has been a “separation of the interest in tokenization from the price of Bitcoin.”
He explained, “In previous cycles, as Bitcoin and other altcoins surged, interest in tokenization grew, with major traditional financial institutions building out crypto and tokenization teams. But when prices fell, those teams often shrank considerably.”
“Now, I think we’re getting to the point where it’s almost independent of the price of Bitcoin, that people see the benefits that blockchain can have to move and store traditional financial assets.”
Tokenization—the process of representing assets like oil or bonds digitally on a blockchain—has seen substantial growth over the past year, driven in part by the Trump administration’s relaxed cryptocurrency regulations, which have attracted interest from major traditional financial firms.
Bitcoin has fluctuated throughout the year, hitting a high of over $126,000 in early October before dropping nearly 20% to around $102,000.
Cowan emphasized that the crypto industry must showcase the tangible advantages of tokenization to institutions. He expressed hope that next year would see the sector “really demonstrate” that tokenization offers a faster, cheaper, and more efficient way to move and store financial assets.
“For large organizations with a long-term perspective, it’s crucial to show the clear benefits of this technology, so they can recognize it as a durable, long-term trend—something that’s inevitable,” he said.
“They just see that technology as something that is going to be the back end of their financial institutions.”
Cowan described stablecoins, which have surged in popularity following new U.S. regulations earlier this year, as a crypto use case that is “off to the races.”
He noted that tokenized money market funds—investing in assets like government bonds—have also “really entered the market,” drawing growing institutional interest.
“As capital moves on-chain, investors want the risk-free yield they miss out on when holding stablecoins,” Cowan said. “Transitioning from stablecoins to money market funds is a very logical next step.”
Cowan added that the industry is approaching a point where the technology can clearly show major financial firms, previously on the sidelines, that tokenization is truly transformative.
“This is the time to invest,” he said. “Over the next couple of years, they’re going to see it come to fruition.”
