In 1998, the world’s largest telecom, AT&T, cut a series of deals with a popular startup called Excite. By distributing Excite’s content and search tools over its giant cable network, the company believed it could extend its dominance into the emerging Internet era. Google, of course, had other plans and today its market cap is 20 times larger than AT&T.
I thought about AT&T as I read the New York Stock Exchange’s announcement of a new platform for tokenized securities. The news represents a watershed moment for blockchain since not only is NYSE an iconic brand, but its parent company ICE owns other exchanges and clearing systems all over the world. A firm of that caliber embracing tokenization means blockchain technology is finally going mainstream.
