Tokenization is doing both — making things easier and more complex, depending on how mature the startup’s internal infrastructure is.
On the easy side, tokenization simplifies share creation, fractional ownership, liquidity management, and secondary transfers. It removes a lot of legacy ETF friction by putting issuance and redemption on-chain, which means fewer intermediaries and faster settlement. For early-stage teams, this can dramatically reduce operational overhead.
But on the complex side, tokenization adds new layers of responsibility — smart-contract security, custody integration, regulatory clarity across jurisdictions, and the need for accurate oracle-fed pricing. Mid-sized fintechs often underestimate how much auditing, compliance automation, and technical due diligence tokenized ETFs demand.
So in reality, tokenization is a competitive advantage, but only for teams prepared to handle the added regulatory and technical load — which is why more founders are exploring structured, end-to-end crypto ETF development.