Empire Making Tokenization a Reality: Bringing Assets Onchain | Samara Cohen
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Apr 4, 2026 Samara Cohen, Global Head of Market Development at BlackRock who focuses on market structure and tokenization. She discusses how blockchain and AI will reshape market design. She covers pricing and oracle failures, what tokenized stocks truly represent, and how ETFs and tokenization can work together. She outlines signposts for near‑term tokenization progress and practical advice for builders.
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Next Year Will Define Capital Markets For A Decade
- Market structure decisions in the next 6–12 months will shape global capital markets for a decade or more.
- Samara Cohen cites Europe and AI-driven changes plus regulatory alignment in the U.S. as forces driving that structural shift.
Tokenized Assets Are Tiny But Fragile
- Tokenized financial assets remain tiny relative to crypto, creating outsized fragility if misdesigned.
- Samara warns that October 10th exposed market design gaps (pricing, valuation) that would be catastrophic at scale.
The Oracle Problem Is A Systemic Risk
- The Oracle problem is central: markets need reliable, timely price information to prevent cascades.
- Samara identifies multiple pricing and data-source failures on October 10th that caused cascading events.