BNB Chain CBO Thomas Chen flags tokenization’s last-mile problem at TOKEN2049

이미지 불러오는 중

BNB Chain official brand assets (bnbchain.org)

Chen argues tokenized assets won't reach real adoption until they live inside the wallets people already use

Wed 4 Nov 2026 · 19:06 EST · 3 min read

In Stocks

Share

Tokenization has spent years being pitched as the next big thing for finance. According to BNB Chain’s new Chief Business Officer, the industry hasn’t even finished warming up.

Speaking at TOKEN2049 Singapore, Thomas Chen said tokenized assets need wallet access to reach users and drive adoption. Creating a token, in his view, is only half the job. Getting it into someone’s hands is the other half.

Issuance is easy, distribution is hard

Chen took the stage at the conference, which ran from October 7-8, 2026. He described the current state of tokenized asset adoption as the “bottom of the first inning.”

His core argument centered on distribution. The industry, he said, still lacks robust channels and user access that would let people actually do something useful with tokenized assets.

Chen’s point was that tokenized assets need seamless integration into user-friendly wallets. Without that, he suggested, the sector risks staying stuck in speculation instead of delivering real utility.

The bStocks numbers behind the pitch

Chen pointed to Binance’s bStocks platform as evidence that demand is already there. The product launched on June 11, 2026.

According to Chen, bStocks amassed nearly $1 billion in assets under management within its first three to four months. That’s a quick climb for a product category many still treat as experimental.

The catalog grew just as fast. bStocks started with five tokenized assets and expanded to nearly 100 by mid-October, covering tokenized versions of traditional equities and ETFs.

The news moving money, markets, and the world—before your day starts.

Daily. Free. Join 34,000+ readers across crypto, finance, and policy.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.

Trading activity tells a similar story. Cumulative trading volume on the platform exceeded $40 billion by mid-October 2026. Over $6 billion in conversions were also completed over the same stretch.

The platform has shown potential to attract trading activity outside traditional market hours, when conventional exchanges are closed.

Still, Chen’s framing is notable. Even while touting those figures, he argued the industry is at the very beginning. Strong early numbers, in his telling, are a sign of interest, not proof that the plumbing is finished.

A new executive with a custody background

Chen is fresh in the role. He was appointed Chief Business Officer of BNB Chain on September 28, 2026, meaning his TOKEN2049 appearance came roughly ten days into the job.

His résumé leans heavily on institutional crypto infrastructure. He previously served as CEO of Function and also worked at BitGo, where custody assets grew above $100 billion during his time there.

His leadership at BNB Chain is expected to focus on building deeper institutional partnerships and strengthening the ecosystem’s value.

What this means for tokenization

Tokenization is advancing, but the infrastructure needed to sustain user engagement and trust in these assets still has a long way to go.

The bStocks figures, nearly $1 billion in assets under management and more than $40 billion in cumulative volume, show traders are willing to show up. The open question is whether that activity reflects durable use or a burst of curiosity.

By emphasizing practical utility over issuance volume, Chen is pointing toward a version of tokenized equities that functions as part of a financial system, not just another speculative trading venue.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.