U.S. Stablecoin Ban May Drive Capital Toward Tokenized Assets

The U.S. GENIUS Act, which imposes a broad ban on yield-bearing stablecoins, may not deter institutional investors from seeking returns on their digital assets, according to Will Beeson, founder and CEO of Uniform Labs and a former Standard Chartered executive. Instead, the regulation could inadvertently accelerate investment into tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) as investors look for alternatives to generate yield [1]. The ban prevents holders from earning interest on their stablecoin balances, but Beeson argues that institutions will not simply hold idle, depreciating assets [1].

Beeson emphasized that trillions of dollars in non-interest-bearing stablecoins are likely to enter the tokenized financial markets. “Capital is already shifting,” he stated, highlighting that institutions are demanding yield through compliant infrastructure [1]. He described the next phase of digital finance as one where investors have programmatic access to risk-free yield and can seamlessly transition between cash and high-quality assets [1].

This shift aligns with the broader growth of tokenized financial assets, particularly in 2025, where tokenized U.S. Treasury and money market funds have seen significant adoption [1]. Uniform Labs is addressing this trend with its platform, Multiliquid, designed to provide real-time conversion between tokenized assets and stablecoins. The platform supports an open-architecture model that allows compliant issuers to integrate without commercial agreements [1]. Beeson confirmed the company is collaborating with a range of institutions, fintechs, and stablecoin issuers in preparation for its production launch later this year [1].

Beeson previously worked at Libeara, a tokenization platform incubated by Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures, underscoring the growing institutional interest in digital assets [1]. The shift toward tokenization is also supported by market observers like Sandra Waliczek of the World Economic Forum, who noted that asset tokenization could democratize access to traditionally exclusive asset classes such as real estate and private equity [1]. By enabling fractional ownership, tokenization allows smaller investors to participate in markets previously reserved for the wealthy [1].

The tokenization market is currently valued at nearly $26 billion and has so far concentrated on private credit and government bonds. However, Beeson predicts the trend will expand to include corporate bonds, commodities, equities, real estate funds, and private equity assets [1]. As the GENIUS Act lends new legitimacy to stablecoins, the broader digital asset market is increasingly turning its focus to tokenized assets [1].

Sources:

[1] GENIUS Act stablecoin ban could accelerate capital into tokenization — ex-Standard Chartered exec

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