The House Financial Services Digital Assets Subcommittee will hold a hearing on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization on June 5 to discuss the potential benefits of the emerging sector.
Congress will hear testimony from industry experts during the hearing to determine the potential benefits of RWA tokenization in facilitating efficient markets.
The US government’s decision to address RWA tokenization is critical due to the industry’s size and expected growth. Research from global consultancy Roland Berger estimated the size of the sector at $300 billion by 2023, with the potential to grow by a factor of $40 to $10 trillion by 2030.
Meanwhile, BlackRock recently led a $47 million funding round for Securitize, a major player in RWA tokenization. This partnership aims to digitalize the capital markets and make them more accessible and efficient.
BlackRock’s involvement highlights a strategic focus on RWA tokenization, including creating digital tokens for assets such as stocks and bonds, and trading them on blockchain platforms
List of expert witnesses unconfirmed
The experts at the upcoming session of the House of Representatives are largely unknown.
Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo confirmed he will testify at the hearing on May 31, following speculation by Fox Business’s Eleanor Terret.
Domingo announced on social media:
“I am one of the expert witnesses for this hearing and I am proud to represent the industry at this important meeting.”
Terret also wondered whether anyone from BlackRock would testify. However, the company has not made a statement on the matter at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, Chainlink Labs denied that chief scientist Ari Juels will attend the event.
A company spokesperson told CryptoSlate that Chainlink Labs is not aware of any members attending the event and that rumors about Juels’ appearance are “community conjecture.”
Broader interests of the US government
The House Financial Services Committee has not yet indicated which aspects of RWA tokenization it will focus on. However, other parts of the government and their members have previously expressed broader expectations and concerns about the sector.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Money (OCC) hosted an RWA symposium in February. The event explored legal foundations, use cases, risk management and control issues surrounding RWA tokenization.
The US Federal Reserve published a paper on tokenization in August 2023, claiming that the tokenized assets could transfer volatility from crypto asset markets to benchmark markets.
Individual states have also taken action. In February, Iowa introduced a bill that redefines tokenized RWAs as personal property, representing a permissive attitude.