🗣️🕫 One of the biggest opportunities for mass adoption of crypto is Tokenized Derivatives 🗣️🕫
What are Tokenized Derivatives?
Let's discuss 👇👇
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Many derivatives in the crypto markets are already tokenized. Let’s define both separately first:
What is tokenization?
Basically it’s turning an asset (digital or physical) into a token on the blockchain (in THIS context).
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Technically tokenization is turning sensitive information into a non-sensitive token.
We’ve actually been doing this since the 70’s (turning credit card numbers in a computer database, for example, into a string of nonsensical numbers and letters…for example).
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But in #crypto, it’s turning that asset into a crypto token, or rather, representing it on the blockchain.
But why would you want to do this?
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1. Fractional ownership
If you tokenize a condominium you could issue 10,000 tokens representing 1/10,000th ownership in the condo property and then ownership would be split amongst anyone that owned tokens.
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2. Security
All transactions take place on the immutable, transparent and traceable blockchain. This also offers less points of failure.
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3. No intermediaries
Traditionally, valuable assets, such as real estate, require several “middlemen” and mountains of paperwork, adding significantly to time and cost. With blockchain secured transactions, this would no longer be an issue.
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4. Permissionless
Tokenization democratizes asset ownership so terms are dictated by the code in the token contract and not by a centralized power.
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This process can be done with real world assets, such as real estate, as shown in the example.
It can also be done with traditional financial instruments, such as futures contracts, options, debt, etc.
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A great example of this is Paxo Gold (PAXG @PaxosGlobal) which is a token backed by gold.
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What is a derivative?
A derivative is mostly exactly what it sounds like:
Something that derives its value from something else.
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To explain more clearly, in financial markets, a derivative represents a contract that derives its value from an asset or group of assets, like stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, etc
These contracts are then traded as financial instruments for hedging or speculation.
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When I say many derivatives are already tokenized, I mean things like crypto futures contracts.
Nowadays there are several crypto options available on derivative markets (like @MEXCDerivatives which offers perpetual futures for an insane amount of tokens).
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When I say Tokenized Derivative I am referring to derivatives that exist in traditional finance markets that haven’t been (or didn’t start as) tokenized yet.
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These are things like copper futures or foreign currencies.
@synthetix_io is a great example of a protocol that offers tokenized derivatives, as it offers foreign currency trading on the blockchain.
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Ok, now we know what tokenization is, what derivatives are, and what tokenized derivatives are. Why are we talking about this?
Because this represents a tremendous opportunity and likely the direction of crypto and #Defi in the future.
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See, there were 62.5 billion futures contracts traded in 2021.
Logically, not all of those trades came from farmers, but many speculators as well. That means there is a large population of traders who use real money to trade futures contracts.
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Crypto futures is a great start and represents an amazing step forward in the advancement of #blockchain-based financial markets.
In fact, $BTC and $ETH futures contracts accounted for $32 trillion in trade in 2021!
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Now, while we consider ways to draw normies or institutional investors over to crypto, imagine if we could woo futures traders.
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And I believe synthetic assets (“real world" assets that have been tokenized, including tokenized derivatives) is the way this will happen
When we can offer synthetic E-mini S&P 500 futures, or Pork Belly futures, we’ll see even more people bringing their trades on-chain.
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TLDR:
- Tokenization turns assets into tokens on a blockchain
- Derivatives are financial contracts that derive their value from an underlying asset
- Synthetics are asset representations on a blockchain (i.e. tokenized derivatives)
👉 We need synthetic CME futures!
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Cheers mfkers
🪡/finis