Start with the problem, not the token: What Wall Street’s tokenisation push means for Southeast Asian founders

During a five-week stay in the United States, a reporter explored the intersection of blockchain, finance, and emerging technology. Key events included attending the Avalanche Summit, speaking about stablecoins at UN Blockchain Week, and witnessing how blockchain conversations were evolving beyond crypto trading. The reporter found that the most intriguing question was what needed to happen before tokenisation becomes a practical financial product rather than just a technology demonstration.

Southeast Asian startups were already exploring tokenised assets, digital payments, and blockchain infrastructure, but technical feasibility alone was not enough to build a sustainable business. Wall Street, through the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), was delving into a different kind of blockchain market. In March 2026, NYSE announced a memorandum of understanding with Securitise to support the development of tokenised securities on a planned Digital Trading Platform.

This initiative would focus on ownership records, on-chain settlement, and operational standards for tokenised securities. Earlier in 2026, Ava Labs revealed that NYSE had tested Avalanche technology for potential use in tokenised securities infrastructure, highlighting the significance of infrastructure development in blockchain-based finance.

The conversation moved beyond simply which blockchain attracted the most attention to examining the infrastructure required for securities markets, such as who records ownership, how transactions settle, and how investor protections are maintained. Many tokenisation pitches needed to become more specific, moving beyond mere token representations of financial assets to commercially viable financial products.

In October 2026, BNY and Citadel Securities completed the first use of tokenised assets on a major tri-party repo platform, settling a two-year US Treasury note within minutes on BNY’s private digital ledger. This showcased how tokenisation could make real assets, collateral, and institutional capital move more efficiently. For Southeast Asian startups, the message was clear: the next opportunity lies in building compliant infrastructure that makes these assets and capital move more efficiently.

While technology is an important part of the equation, it is only one piece of the puzzle. BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, tokenised through Securitise, expanded to additional blockchain networks, including Avalanche, demonstrating how tokenised financial products could be available across multiple blockchain ecosystems.

The examples of BlackRock’s fund and FIFA’s blockchain for fan experiences demonstrated different products, users, and business models, raising questions for founders about the specific benefits of dedicated networks compared to existing platforms. Ultimately, the conversation in New York emphasised that Southeast Asian founders should not treat tokenisation hype as the sole opportunity but instead focus on building compliant infrastructure that makes real assets and capital move more efficiently.