Can tokenisation spark an economic revival in SA?

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

If 2026 is the year of the stablecoin, 2027 will be the year of tokenisation of real-world assets (RWAs). That’s the process of converting ownership rights in financial or RWAs into digital tokens on the blockchain.

These are already available in the form of stablecoins, or through funds like BlackRock’s BUIDL Token, which is invested in US Treasuries, or Franklin Templeton’s BENJI Token, invested in regulated money market funds.

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But what happens when tokenisation is applied to less liquid assets like property, fine art, gold or physical commodities?

It’s reckoned that tokenisation of RWAs will be worth anything between $2 and $16 trillion by 2030. These are staggering figures that cannot be ignored.

In this Moneyweb Crypto podcast, macro strategist and Novaque CEO Shiven Moodley lays out the likely pathway for tokenisation.

He was recently asked to contribute a paper for the Central Bank of Ireland on the use of tokenisation to create a more efficient financial system. Digital tokens allow for instant settlement, reduce counterparty risk and enable real time risk-monitoring.

These are just some of the benefits.

What about the risks?

Quantum computing – probably three to four years away – could potentially crash a financial protocol built on digital tokens, says Moodley. It is smarter than AI and could result in “jailbreaks” of sophisticated cryptography on which tokenisation depends.

They shared an example of how sophisticated AI is right now.

“Last week, someone used Claude code to actually retrieve this seed phrase [for bitcoin], which they had forgotten about. That shows you how far we’ve actually come with just Claude,” says Moodley.

Quantum computing will be even more impressive.

Where could SA see immediate benefit from tokenisation?

There’s a huge benefit to venture capital and other funds that want to kick-start projects, but with better control over how funds are deployed.

“Let’s say the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) wants to loan money to a startup, or give it a letter of credit. If you’re using ZAR stablecoins, the IDC [could] partner with the ZAR stablecoin issuer and … see how they’re spending, but also have control over those funds.”

Listen/read:

Digital tokens could also be applied to invoice discounting and private credit, for hedging or liquidity purposes.

There is potential to unlock massive value in South Africa through tokenisation of bonds, money market funds and other less liquid assets that can be fractionalised and traded 24/7 – rather than just during banking hours.

Listen/read:
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NYSE-listed Super Group issues first bank-backed ZAR stablecoin

But, while other countries are recognising the economic potential of tokenisation, local regulators are moving in the wrong direction entirely. Proposed new exchange control rules seek to criminalise anyone holding bitcoin or other digital assets on a secure wallet that they control.

They will be required to hand these over to the authorities. These regulations would terrify anyone holding digital assets, says Moodley.

For previous Moneyweb Crypto Pod episodes, click here.

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