The Shift In Asset Ownership

The Biggest Financial Reset in Modern History Is Already Underway

And almost no one is paying attention.

The real shift is happening quietly. Banks, asset managers, and central banks are rewriting the rules of ownership—using blockchain. It’s called tokenisation.

At first glance, it sounds like innovation: faster settlements, fractional ownership, more efficient markets. But beneath the buzzwords lies a deeper reality.

Tokenisation is the process of taking real-world assets and converting them into digital records stored on a blockchain. These records represent ownership of physical items like property or government bonds. They can be bought, sold, and transferred in seconds rather than days.

However, the token is not the asset itself. It’s a claim—often managed by a custodian or institution. This adds a layer of abstraction. You may not truly own the asset—you own a programmable promise, enforced by code and governed by private platforms.

This raises critical questions about your rights when something goes wrong. For example, in the case of home or land ownership, tokenisation could mean holding a digital token instead of a traditional deed. That token may only represent a conditional claim, governed by the platform’s rules—not full legal title.

Your ability to live in, sell, or use your property could be controlled or restricted by automated code. Enforcement could be remote, triggered by rules you don’t control. Ownership, in this model, becomes access-dependent, not absolute. Legal protection is replaced by programmable permission.

BlackRock has already launched a tokenised money market fund. Investors receive tokens representing their shares, and transactions settle instantly on a digital ledger. The underlying strategy remains traditional—what changes is speed, control, and data visibility.

JPMorgan has built a platform called Kinexys, already processing real-world lending and payments using tokenised assets. These are private systems that only allow approved participants. They do not run on public blockchains but are operated under the direct control of the institutions that created them. This isn’t open finance—it’s programmable infrastructure owned by large players.

The Singapore Central Bank has launched Project Guardian in partnership with global banks. It explores tokenised bonds, digital deposits, and smart contracts—all in a “compliant” environment. Transactions settle nearly instantly, with full transparency and no paperwork. But this also means enforcement is automated: ownership rights, regulatory checks, and payment conditions are hardcoded into the token. There’s no courtroom, no human review—just execution by machine.

The benefits are easy to see: instant settlements, 24/7 markets, fractional ownership of expensive assets, and automation of everything from dividends to compliance. Manual processes disappear. But this efficiency is not neutral.

These systems are programmable by design. If a token represents ownership, it can also be frozen, restricted, or revoked. Censorship and enforcement can occur at the infrastructure level, before you even know something’s wrong. Your ability to hold, use, or transfer assets depends on rules written in code—and the permission of those running the system.

In this model, ownership can be revoked or limited without warning. Your access could be denied based on criteria you didn’t agree to—and can’t change. This is a fundamental shift: asset ownership becomes conditional, subject to code, automation, and institutional control.

Control once exercised through courts and contracts is now embedded in software. Whoever controls the code, controls your access to wealth.

Smart contracts—self-executing digital agreements—carry out actions automatically when preset conditions are met. A payment might trigger when a bond matures. Ownership might transfer the moment a price is received. These contracts don’t ask permission, and they don’t allow discretion. They follow rules exactly as written.

Blockchain provides the ledger—an immutable record of who owns what. But when that ledger is controlled by private institutions, trust is based on access, not transparency.

Public systems like Bitcoin are permissionless. The tokenised finance being built by banks is permissioned. You don’t opt in—you’re invited if you meet the criteria. This is not decentralisation. It’s a more efficient form of centralised control.

To integrate with existing financial infrastructure, banks are aligning with global messaging standards. At the same time, central banks are developing CBDCs—digital versions of national currencies. When combined with tokenised assets, the result is a system where every transaction step is monitored, enforced, and settled instantly.

Taxation, regulation, and compliance will be enforced by code. There’s no human discretion—only hardcoded rules executed in real time. This allows unprecedented surveillance and control of financial activity.

While the promise of tokenisation is to remove intermediaries and democratise finance, the reality is that it consolidates power. A handful of institutions—banks, central banks, and tech providers—control the infrastructure. Private blockchains. Proprietary rules.

The system is permissioned and gated. Access is managed behind the scenes. It is more efficient—but also more centralised. Power is concentrated. Ownership becomes conditional on institutional approval, not market dynamics.

Efficiency does not guarantee freedom or inclusion. In fact, it may do the opposite.

This shift does not require your approval. It’s already being implemented—by the very institutions that control the current financial system. It won’t be announced with headlines. It’s unfolding through updated bank platforms, automated settlements, and redefined legal frameworks.

Once embedded, the rules will be written into the assets themselves. Markets will function without human judgment. Your financial rights will be defined by code—and enforced automatically.

In a recent interview, Agustín Carstens, the former General Manager of the BIS, compared the future of money to the evolution of smartphones: seamless, instant, multifunctional, and integrated into daily life. But that vision hides the true purpose of the tools.

The same institutions that ran the old system are designing the new one—this time with even more control, baked into the infrastructure.

The shift to digital money is not about empowerment. It’s about surveillance, enforcement, and programmable access—controlled by private actors and central banks.

That’s why there’s no public debate.
This isn’t a disruption.
It’s a reset.
And those most affected will be the ones not paying attention.

Who Benefits from Tokenisation?

• Financial giants like BlackRock and JPMorgan gain control over issuance, custody, and settlement—on blockchains they operate.

• Central banks get real-time visibility, programmable enforcement, and tight monetary control.

• Tech providers profit from running infrastructure and setting digital rules.

• Private capital gains liquidity and global access.

• Governments acquire new tools for behavioural control and surveillance.

Meanwhile, ordinary users face programmable ownership, limited autonomy, and no influence over the rules. Even if retail investors gain access to tokenised markets, they remain subject to institutional oversight, fees, and restrictions.

Those without digital IDs or banking access will be excluded altogether. Cash and informal transactions will be pushed out. The mainstream claim is that tokenisation promotes inclusion—but the hard-learned lesson is this:

Hard assets are your last line of defence.

Use decentralised tools, not institutional ones.
Bitcoin and other permissionless crypto offer an escape—but only if you self-custody.
Keep a foothold in the real economy.
Use cash while you still can.
Build local networks—strategically.

Offshore jurisdictions and alternative citizenships may help delay compliance. Think legally, not just tactically. Understand the infrastructure, follow what the BIS, IMF, and central banks are building—not what they’re saying.

Efficiency is the bait. Control is the hook.

Tokenisation is not about innovation or access.
It’s about programmable ownership, automated enforcement, and institutional dominance.

Default is not destiny.
You may not be able to stop the system—but you can minimise exposure, buy time, and build parallel alternatives.