Tokenized real-world assets — funds, securities, cash instruments — have moved past the proof-of-concept stage. But they're not taking off. Franklin Templeton's Chetan Karkhanis points to a stubborn bottleneck: fragmented standards across Layer 1 blockchains and interoperability systems that keep the market from scaling.
Translation:Activele din lumea reală tokenizate — fonduri, titluri de valoare, instrumente de numerar — au depășit stadiul de dovadă a conceptului. Dar nu decolează. Chetan Karkhanis de la Franklin Templeton semnalează un blocaj persistent: standarde fragmentate în cadrul blockchain-urilor de nivel 1 și al sistemelor de interoperabilitate care împiedică scalarea pieței.
Note: "proof-of-concept" -> "dovadă a conceptului" (common term). "Layer 1 blockchains" -> "blockchain-uri de nivel 1" (or "Layer 1" can be kept as is, but Romanian tech articles often use "Layer 1" or "nivel 1". I'll use "Layer 1" as it's a proper term. "interoperability systems" -> "sisteme de interoperabilitate". "scaling" -> "scalare". Next:Fragmented standards
Karkhanis, who oversees digital asset strategy at the $1.6 trillion asset manager, says the lack of common technical rails is the main structural barrier. Different L1s use different token standards. Interoperability layers add another layer of complexity. That fragmentation makes it hard for institutions to issue a single tokenized product that works across multiple chains — or for investors to move assets between ecosystems without friction.
Translation:Standarde fragmentate
Karkhanis, care supraveghează strategia activelor digitale la managerul de active de 1,6 trilioane de dolari, spune că lipsa unor șine tehnice comune este principala barieră structurală. Diferitele L1-uri folosesc standarde de tokenuri diferite. Straturile de interoperabilitate adaugă un alt nivel de complexitate. Această fragmentare face dificil pentru instituții să emită un singur produs tokenizat care să funcționeze pe mai multe lanțuri — sau pentru investitori să mute active între ecosisteme fără fricțiuni.
Note: "L1s" -> "L1-uri" (plural). "token standards" -> "standarde de tokenuri". "Interoperability layers" -> "Straturile de interoperabilitate". "friction" -> "fricțiuni". Next:The problem is compounded by the fact that many of these standards are not just different but incompatible. Even within the same blockchain, different token standards (like ERC-20 vs. ERC-721) serve different purposes. Across chains, the gap widens.
Wait, the original text didn't have this paragraph. Let me re-read the original content. The original content provided is:Tokenized real-world assets — funds, securities, cash instruments — have moved past the proof-of-concept stage. But they're not taking off. Franklin Templeton's Chetan Karkhanis points to a stubborn bottleneck: fragmented standards across Layer 1 blockchains and interoperability systems that keep the market from scaling.
Fragmented standards
Karkhanis, who oversees digital asset strategy at the $1.6 trillion asset manager, says the lack of common technical rails is the main structural barrier. Different L1s use different token standards. Interoperability layers add another layer of complexity. That fragmentation makes it hard for institutions to issue a single tokenized product that works across multiple chains — or for investors to move assets between ecosystems without friction.
The problem isn't new, but it's become more visible as more financial institutions push into tokenized offerings. Banks, asset managers, and exchanges have all launched pilots or live products this year. Yet each tends to live inside its own blockchain silo.
Still waiting for takeoff
Despite the hype — and real progress on the tech side — tokenized assets haven't achieved the breakout moment many predicted. Karkhanis's analysis suggests the market is stuck in a chicken-and-egg loop: without a unified standard, liquidity stays fragmented; without liquidity, issuers hesitate to commit fully.
Franklin Templeton itself has been active in the space, running a tokenized money market fund on multiple chains. But even that product, one of the more visible examples, hasn't sparked a wave of copycats at the scale some expected.
Karkhanis also examined potential catalysts that could push adoption forward — though the public analysis doesn't name specific triggers. The implication is clear: until the industry agrees on how tokens talk to each other, tokenized RWAs will remain a collection of promising pilots rather than a unified asset class.
