Lack of clear regulatory guidelines and the uncertainty it brings has delayed the development of the crypto industry. This is particularly evident when we look at the challenges faced by firms looking to list exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on the traded price of bitcoin.

It’s commonly been said that the security token sector will first impact the real estate space. After all, we’ve had security tokens represent real estate assets before. Securitize, for example, has been focused on tokenizing some $1 billion of real estate assets; other companies, like QuantmRE are looking to create their own security tokens tied to fractionalized interest in real estate.

With the SEC promising to issue “plain English” guidance on security token analysis and the industry waiting for the first SEC-approved security token offering (STO), could 2019 be the year that security tokens become the fundraising tool of choice?

Much of the attention the blockchain and cryptocurrency markets received in 2017 and 2018 has waned as Bitcoin’s price has fallen about 75% from its peak. One area within the space that is growing in favor despite the broader negativity is securitized tokens.