Michael Hsu, President of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the US bank supervisory authority, said that the interest in cryptocurrencies is decreasing, while the interest in tokenization continues to increase.
Hsu, a self-described crypto critic, has been meeting with financial institutions, technology firms and other regulators globally for the past few years. He said he has observed a growing gap between crypto and the tokenization of real-world assets.
According to Hsu, the crypto world is primarily focused on individual investors and is “full of scams, scams, and hacks.” Hsu argued that the main driving force behind interest in crypto is the hope of speculative gains.
According to the OCC chairman, investors are attracted by the potential to make money by investing in various cryptocurrencies. However, the crypto industry has faced several disruptions in recent years, including the collapses of algorithmic stablecoin Terra USD, crypto exchange FTX, and other crypto firms. The industry also faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny over concerns about the potential for fraud.
On the other hand, according to Hsu, tokenization focuses on “solving a real problem” such as payments. Hsu believes that tokenization can simplify fees and hassles in the remittance process. “When I talk to people, I see interest in tokenization increasing because it solves a problem, while interest in crypto is gradually decreasing,” Hsu said.
*This is not investment advice.