HashKey RWA CEO Anna Liu spoke at an ETFGI panel on Sept. 9 focused on asset management and the ETF industry, joining representatives from PwC, State Street and BSE Indices to discuss asset management, ETFs, tokenization and the development of real-world assets, or RWAs.
Tokenized ETFs and virtual asset ETFs are not the same
Liu said tokenized ETFs and virtual asset ETFs are "two completely different concepts." In her description, a tokenized ETF can still retain the same underlying assets, fund structure, regulatory authorization, net asset value, or NAV, and custody arrangements as a traditional fund. The main change is that ownership records move onto a blockchain.
For on-chain investors, she said, that opens a way to allocate regulated traditional financial assets through accounts they already know. For traditional investors, the shift is more about how they get access than about any change to the asset itself.
Access alone will not move capital
Liu said a new access channel by itself is not enough to drive a real migration of capital. She pointed instead to longer trading hours, more efficient settlement and a broader set of asset-use cases as the areas to watch in the next stage of development.
"What this really solves is liquidity and capital efficiency, and that is what may bring in new money, rather than moving the same money between different channels," she said.
AI income could become an investable asset
Looking further ahead, Liu said revenue generated by AI could itself become an investable and distributable asset in the future. "AI provides productive capacity, while the blockchain ledger is responsible for distributing the output," she said.
She gave the example of AI software that generates large numbers of very small but continuous payments each day. Under traditional financial infrastructure, she said, it is difficult to distribute that kind of income to a large investor base in an economically efficient way. On-chain infrastructure could automate that process.
Liu added that five years from now, the surprising development may not be "machines owning assets," but the arrival of the first revenue stream that is "small in amount, continuous, and shareable by thousands of people." In her words, "This is not a disruption of traditional finance. It is an extension of financial infrastructure that makes financial relationships possible for the first time where they previously could not work."
About ETFGI
ETFGI is a well-known independent research and consulting organization covering the global ETF and ETP industry. The input also notes that institutions including J.P. Morgan, Fidelity and Nasdaq have participated in its industry events and insight summits.