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Galaxy Digital is becoming a big name in a new trend where real-world things are turned into digital assets. This is called tokenization. That means you take something physical like a house, a painting, or even a company’s shares and create a digital version of it on the blockchain. This digital version can be tracked, traded, or shared online, just like crypto.
One of the most surprising things they’ve tokenized is a violin. Not just any violin but a Stradivarius from 1708 worth around nine million dollars. It’s owned by Yat Siu, the founder of Animoca Brands. In 2024, Galaxy gave him a loan and used the violin as collateral. They also created an NFT for it on Ethereum, which acts like a digital proof of ownership.
Right now the NFT can’t be sold, but Yat Siu said he hopes to one day split it into smaller pieces so regular people can buy a share of it. This is one of the biggest advantages of tokenization. It lets people invest in expensive things without needing to buy the whole thing. For example, you could own a small piece of a famous artwork, a building, or in this case a violin that once belonged to royalty.
Even though this violin NFT isn’t being traded yet, it’s helping Galaxy show off its tokenization platform, which is called GK8. But the company is going even further. In a recent filing, Galaxy said it’s looking into letting people hold and trade its own stock directly on the blockchain. If they go through with it, this would be a huge step in making stocks digital.
Most stock tokens you see today on apps like Robinhood are not real shares. They’re just representations. True tokenized stocks would give people actual ownership and the same rights as regular shareholders. You could vote, earn dividends, and sell your shares, all through the blockchain, without needing traditional brokers.
In Europe, some companies are already working on regulated systems for tokenized stocks. But in the US, it’s still a legal grey area. The laws are unclear, and some politicians are worried that tokenized companies might escape regulation. For now, Galaxy says it’s just exploring the idea and looking at how it would work under US law.
Still, their CEO Mike Novogratz is hopeful. He recently said tokenization hasn’t really started yet, but he feels like it’s about to. If he’s right, this could change how people invest forever.