Binance co-founder CZ: Tokenization can create markets for assets that have no trading venue
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said in an interview with The Rollup that tokenization can create markets for assets that have never had a trading venue, from rare earth minerals to water. He said that they are now only talking about stocks that already have a trading venue. He said that there are many assets that do not have a trading venue. He said that gold probably does, but many other precious metals probably do not. He said that rare earth minerals probably do not. He said that tokenizing them all can give them liquidity.
This statement came from an interview clip released by The Rollup on October 26. The interview background included CZ previously ringing the Nasdaq bell for BNB-related companies. CZ described asset tokenization as extending U.S. capital markets onto the blockchain rather than replacing the existing system.
Original sources:
Title: CZ says tokenization can create markets for assets that have never had one...
Publisher: The Rollup (@therollupco)
Publication date: 2026-10-26
URL：https://x.com/therollupco/status/2114900941929676854
Source type: media/interview retelling
Verification status: The full post text and quotations were actually read for this piece, verification date 2026-10-26
Supporting content: Supports CZ’s reported remarks that tokenization of assets without trading venues (rare earths, other precious metals, water) can provide liquidity; does not prove that any specific tokenization product has gone live or that liquidity has been realized.Title: THE CZ INTERVIEW
Publisher: Andy (@andyyy / The Rollup)
Publication date: 2026-10-26
URL：https://x.com/andyyy/status/2114810072690044993
Source type: interview video
Verification status: Confirmed the interview exists and the timeline, verification date 2026-10-26
Supporting content: Supports the interview’s overall theme, including tokenized assets and on-chain liquidity; does not separately prove specific market data for rare earths or water.
ABAB AI Insight
CZ framed tokenization as a tool for creating liquidity for physical assets that lack traditional trading venues. Assets such as stocks, which already have exchanges, are distinguished from assets such as rare earths, some precious metals, and water, which lack standardized trading venues. The logic is that on-chain tokens can lower the barriers to fractionalization, transfer, and pricing, thereby forming secondary markets that did not previously exist.
This statement continues CZ’s earlier public view that governments could tokenize assets such as gold, rare earths, and water to attract capital. In practice, some platforms have already tried tokenizing rare-earth-related metals or water rights/water reserves, but most are still in early pilots and face issues such as physical delivery, regulatory classification, custody, and insufficient liquidity. The absence of an existing trading venue does not mean sustained liquidity will automatically emerge after tokenization.
Compared with stock tokenization, tokenization of rare earths and water depends more on verification of physical reserves, cross-border logistics, or rights registration. CZ emphasized “giving them liquidity” but did not provide specific issuer, custody arrangement, or trading volume data. BNB Chain’s activity in tokenized assets was mentioned in the interview, but it has no direct correspondence to this example of rare earths/water.
This remark extends tokenization from existing stocks to a broader range of non-standardized physical assets. Whether a tradable market ultimately forms depends on whether the issuer can establish credible physical backing, the degree of regulatory acceptance, and sufficient buyer participation, rather than merely on the technology going live.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Tokenizing assets without a trading venue does not automatically create sustained liquidity.
Stock tokenization and tokenization of physical assets such as rare earths/water have different custody and delivery requirements.