Asset tokenization, the process of putting real-world assets such as company stock, real estate, and legal documents on blockchain, is gaining quiet but significant momentum. The promise is big: faster transfers, fewer intermediaries, and broader global access.
But while technology continues to lead the way, governments still struggle to keep pace. In many developing countries, ownership is still recorded on paper, and the systems used by administrators are slow, weak, and can quickly become chaotic.
Corey Billington, CEO of asset tokenization company Bluebird, believes it’s precisely these constraints that could cause emerging markets to jump headfirst into a blockchain-based future. In an interview with crypto newsexplains why countries still tied to manual record-keeping are uniquely placed to adopt more efficient digital approaches, and what that change could unlock.
summary
- Developing countries are skipping digitization and moving directly to blockchain
- These systems require national wallets and are likely to be rapidly adopted
- Governments are much more open to tokenization than they are making clear
Crypto.news: Recently, we have seen a big push towards tokenizing assets, with IPOs, stocks, and real-world assets moving on-chain. From your perspective, what exactly is the stock doing right now, and what’s driving this momentum?
Corey Billington: So we’re kind of at a crossroads, especially with on-chain equity. Currently, several countries have supporting infrastructure such as legal frameworks and classification systems. Something like that. And there are developing countries, and a significant number of developed countries, that still lack that foundation.
Developing countries need this most, especially if they want to grow faster and become first world countries. But what they often lack is the legal infrastructure, a way to handle tokenized assets, update registries, and reconcile on-chain events with off-chain governance.
And that’s the real problem. There is a huge gap between what software can do and what the legal system actually supports. There are also tokenization engines such as Blubird, and on a technical level everything is fine. But decoupling occurs when the legal framework those tokens are meant to represent hasn’t kept up, such as a shared registry that doesn’t update automatically when something changes on-chain.
Crypto.News: Does that mean the registry is not in sync with on-chain events?
billington: that’s right. For example, if we are specifically talking about stocks, this could mean that the stock registry is not updated when on-chain transactions occur. At the state or national level, many countries do not allow on-chain transfers unless the changes are reflected in their own records. And this problem is not limited to stocks. The same applies to real estate and products. However, products are handled slightly differently depending on the location.
To give you a real-world example, what we’re currently doing with a government is addressing this issue by tokenizing the land ownership register itself. We don’t start with a house or real estate. Start with the root, the registry layer. And this is being driven not only by the government, but also by some major companies who understand how much this is needed.
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Crypto.News: Can you say which country?
billington: All I can say right now is this is the Caribbean. It’s a developing country. The problems they face are large-scale, including document forgery, illegal occupation, and disputes over ownership. If the documents are unreliable, it is difficult to prove who owns what in court.
So we solve that by putting the registry on-chain. That becomes the source of truth. But it’s not just a problem with the registry itself. Going down this path will require an entire digital infrastructure to support it.
We need a national wallet system for the people. Because if ownership is on-chain, citizens will need wallets. Rental contracts are also stored in these wallets. You’re talking about using managed wallet solutions from players like Utilia and Fireblocks. It is a powerful, secure solution that is already being adopted by banks.
So we’re not just tokenizing land. You are laying the foundation for a fully digital economy. And once that foundation is established, everything else becomes easy, including rental agreements, contracts, and warehouse billing. Now we have a national ecosystem to support it.
This country that we work with is still paper-based, and seriously, we run a lot of our critical systems on physical documents. But they know they are getting richer and richer and can’t afford to stay on paper. Therefore, they skip the traditional “digital” phase and go directly to full digitalization with DLT structures.
Crypto.News: Do you feel like you’re jumping over the landline and going directly to mobile?
billington: that’s right. They are skipping steps. And interestingly, developed countries can also do this, but in reality they do not. Their system is also broken, but comfortable. There is no movement to promote reform in earnest. I think they are waiting. They want smaller countries to test it, fix bugs, and later implement it once it’s proven and reproducible. It’s plug-and-play like opening Microsoft Word, and it looks and works the same every time. That’s what they’re waiting for.
Crypto.News: You mentioned that some major companies are actually pushing for these registry-level reforms. What motivates them? What do they consider to be good?
billington: They face the same problems: fraudulent documents, unreliable title systems, and legal ambiguity. And they are realizing that there is no benefit in copying a First World model that is already outdated. Why rebuild the same broken system?
What we’re seeing is these companies are looking 10, 20, 30 years out. They don’t want to put money into infrastructure that will be outdated in five or 10 years. If we’re going to invest, we want to support the development of something that has a future.
Many of these companies have agreements with governments. Part of its license to operate includes investments in local infrastructure that benefit residents. In this case, that means helping build a modern digital foundation. For example, one of these companies has already spent $3 billion and is allocating even more money to similar development projects in the region.
An on-chain national title registry requires a digital wallet, a digital identity, and the infrastructure to securely manage it all. Once you’ve done that, you can layer in rental agreements, employment contracts, invoicing, and even credit systems.
We’re not just building a registry. Building a DLT-native national infrastructure. And from there, everything compounds: faster processes, lower costs, and more transparency.
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CN: Yes. So what are the tangible benefits for government, industry and the public?
CB: Speed and cost first and foremost. Audits are faster because the data trail is transparent and verifiable. The data is there, cryptographically locked, and the contract logic is already running, so no manual legal verification is required at every step.
And costs can also eliminate the middleman. It does not require many intermediaries to verify, notarize, and process transactions. That alone will save you time and money.
CN: Can you give me a real-life example?
CB: Of course, let’s say you want to buy a house. Authenticating an ID typically requires a notary public, sometimes a lawyer, and a large amount of document checking. However, if you have a government-issued wallet associated with your digital ID, you can simply sign the transaction. That signature proves who you are.
Your wallet becomes like a digital passport or social security number. It cannot be faked, is uniquely yours, and instantly proves your identity. No need to go to a notary or spend hours collecting documents. That entire layer disappears.
And it’s not just the notary public. For example, audit firms will continue to exist, but their role will change. When data is immutable, verifiable, and traceable on-chain, there is no need to manually examine records. Trust is built in.
So it’s not just that things are moving faster, it’s that the whole category of friction is starting to disappear.
CN: How do you address privacy and security issues in these systems? Do you think that not everything on-chain is public?
CB: Well, there has to be a balance. The basic chain is public, but tools like ZK Pass and other privacy layers can be used for more sensitive ones. The public can see that a transaction has occurred, but the details are not necessarily visible; the details are stored in metadata. Additionally, some metadata is public and some is private, depending on who has access to it.
For example, something like medical data would require two keys to unlock it. One from the individual and one from the healthcare provider. The same goes for financial records. Access is gated and requires mutual consent or approval.
CB: Smart contract risks are always present. Whether it’s due to a bug, an exploit, or something bigger like quantum computing in the future, it’s inevitable. But for our use case it’s more manageable. We are not dealing with complex financial logic like staking or lending protocols. These are simple, locked-down agreements that include registry updates, identity verification, and ownership transfers.
Where the real risk still exists is social engineering. It has always been the weak link in the technology system. But here everything is done in a multisig or multikey system. Even if someone compromises one key, that’s not enough. It takes multiple approvals to do anything meaningful.
So I’m not going to compare this to Web2. Web2 allows one insider to walk away with the database. It’s much more difficult. There is no immunity, but it is much safer.
CN: Of course. One last trend: What trends do you think are important but don’t get talked about enough?
CB: Governments are much more open to this than most people realize. A lot of things are happening behind closed doors. They’re not just dipping their toe in the sand, they’re seriously looking for ways to root out corruption, reduce fraud, and improve transparency. they are drivers.
Some of these countries are actively fighting corruption. Although they are cracking down on gangs and cleaning up politics, they still face serious organizational problems, including fake documents, secret deals, and hidden registrations. DLT removes hiding places.
And it costs money too. Blockchain-based registries are not only better, but also cheaper. And that’s important for governments, especially those trying to modernize rapidly.
That means transparency, anti-corruption and cost reduction. That’s really what’s driving this thing forward.
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