- Sergei Nazarov recently said the US Securities and Exchange Commission was changing its stance on the crypto market.
- He sees tokenization as a bridge between encryption and real economic growth, but there is still work to do to turn that possibility into reality.
Joe Biden was the 46th president of the United States. Under his control, and that of Gary Gensler as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the cryptocurrency industry was subject to constant scrutiny, litigation and functional silos due to inconsistency in regulatory authorities.
ChainLink co-founder Sergey Nazarov held discussions at the White House with SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and senior policymakers following the deployment of the SEC of 23 proposed rules designed to streamline the tokenization of US real-world assets (RWAS). In an interview with TheStreet, he explained that regulators show growing interest in Crypto’s potential.
Dialogue with policy makers
Nazarov came from an optimistic meeting:
I think it’s really great how the SEC tackled our industry as a source of economic growth they want to unlock. I definitely have that meaning in meetings.
He explained that the conversation focuses on key off-chain processes such as transfer institutional functions, compliance standards, and cross-chain transfers, and that it should now be implemented directly on the chain. According to him, the goal is to enable blockchain technology to meet regulatory requirements and create a reliable foundation for large-scale adoption.
According to Nazarov, the regulator’s reception was “very positive.” He pointed to a speech by the SEC leadership, noting that the focus is on making the US the epicenter of digital asset tokenization.
We are increasingly convinced that digital asset tokenization is the next step in the industry. I think regulators now view our industry as not a threat, but as a source of US success and economic progress. This is a very different position than how they viewed our industry even six months ago.
When asked about the industry’s biggest hurdle, Nazarov pointed out the concept of books and records used to legally store ownership information.
US books and records still need to be stored in a variety of banking systems and certified databases. In parts of Europe and Asia, the blockchain itself serves as an authoritative source of books and records. It’s a very powerful distinction.
In traditional finance, decades of law and regulations define how ownership is tracked and create a strict framework that supports legacy systems. In contrast, blockchain essentially provides a reliable record of tamper prevention, eliminating the need for separate settlements.
For Nazarov, this challenge lies in filling these two industries. To enable blockchain-based records to achieve the same legal perception as traditional finance, without sacrificing efficiency or innovation.
He argued that the future of crypto is defined not only by cryptocurrency, NFTs, or meme coins, but by the rise of tokenization, which is projected to reach $16 trillion in tokenized assets by 2030.
In addition to this, new initiatives through ChainLink, Digift and UBS Tokenization have been approved under the Hong Kong Cyberport Blockchain and the Digital Asset Pilot Subsidy Regime, aiming to modernize the flow and management of tokenized funds across the global market.
