According to Odaily, economist Hong Hao said on July 31 that lower barriers to entry set by exchanges can make assets more open, broaden the investor base, and make price discovery faster and more efficient.
Hong made the remarks at a Binance offline private event during a discussion on Binance listing stock contracts tied to Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Hyundai Motor, as well as the trend toward global pricing for core assets. He said a more diversified investor structure can reduce the fragility that comes from closed markets and a narrow pool of participants.
Capital openness and cross-market arbitrage
"One of the core reasons U.S. stocks have remained strong relative to other markets is capital openness," Hong said, adding that it is a good thing for more assets to expand their user base.
He also said the value of a listed company is ultimately determined by its profitability, and that arbitrage across global markets will drive prices back toward uniformity. Unlike assets such as gold and Bitcoin, whose prices are formed through market trading, listed companies can continuously generate cash flow, so their value can be calculated by discounting future earnings.
In Hong’s view, a company’s intrinsic value does not change based on whether it trades in South Korea, the United States, or another market. "Arbitrage will continue to eliminate those price gaps and push the same asset toward price convergence across global markets," he said.
On-chain stocks and 24-hour trading
Speaking about on-chain stocks and other forms of financial innovation, Hong said crypto technology is pushing global capital markets toward an era of 24-hour on-chain trading. He described that shift as a direct improvement in the efficiency of global price discovery and an important expression of financial innovation.
He also said financial innovation and regulatory easing are two sides of the same coin. Based on historical experience, he said grand narratives, credit expansion, and regulatory easing are three necessary factors in cycles of prosperity in financial markets.