EVOLUTION OF INVESTMENT TOOLS: FROM TRADITIONAL FORMS TO RWA-TOKENIZATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15407/econlaw.2025.01.074Keywords:
investing, investment instruments, transformation, RWA-tokenization, digital economy, digital instruments.Abstract
The article explores the evolutionary path of investment instruments transformation from their simplest forms to modern digital solutions through a comprehensive historical and systematic analysis spanning from antiquity to the present day. The research identifies and characterizes six key periods in the evolution of investment instruments: natural investment, commercial capital, institutional investment, corporate capital, financial capital, and digital capital. Each period is analyzed through the lens of its characteristic instruments, innovations, limitations, and key transformations, providing a detailed understanding of how investment mechanisms have evolved over time.
Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the current stage of investment instruments development, characterized by the implementation of blockchain technologies and RWA (Real World Assets) tokenization. The study reveals the crucial role of technological innovations in democratizing investment processes and expanding access to various asset classes. The authors have systematized the key aspects of investment paradigm transformation according to fundamental criteria such as accessibility, geography, entry threshold, instrument selection, procedures, operation speed, information support, technologies, regulation, and security.
The research demonstrates how the convergence of traditional financial systems with blockchain technologies creates a fundamentally new investment paradigm characterized by enhanced accessibility, liquidity, and functionality of investment instruments. The transformative potential of modern investment tools, particularly RWA tokenization, is thoroughly analyzed in the context of the post-war reconstruction of territorial communities' economies. The study emphasizes how these innovations can contribute to the diversification of investment sources for local reconstruction projects, the creation of transparent and targeted funding mechanisms, and the attraction of international investments.
The authors present a conceptual vision for the further development of investment mechanisms in the context of digital transformation and post-war recovery needs. The research concludes that the integration of traditional and digital investment instruments, combined with improved regulatory mechanisms and expanded tokenized assets, will enable communities to create technologically progressive economic systems and accelerate the restoration of damaged infrastructure. This approach provides each community with the opportunity to maximize its economic potential by attracting a wide range of investors through innovative digital instruments, collectively contributing to the accelerated recovery and growth of the national economy.
The findings of this study have significant implications for both theoretical understanding of investment evolution and practical application in modern economic conditions, particularly in the context of post-war reconstruction and the digital transformation of financial markets.
References
Riabokin M.V., Kotukh Ye.V. Rol RWA-tokenizatsii v innovatsiinii transformatsii finansovoho sektoru: sutnist, osoblyvosti, ohliad rynku. Finansy Ukrainy. 2024. No 11. S. 101-116. https://doi.org/10.33763/finukr2024.11.101 [in Ukrainian].
Frentrop P. A History of Corporate Governance, 1602-2002. Brussels: Deminor, 2003. 479 p. [in English].
Goldsmith R. Premodern Financial System. A Historical Comparative Study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987. 360 p. [in English].
Gelderblom O., Jonker J. With a view to hold: The emergence of institutional investors on the Amsterdam securities market during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Origins and Development of Financial Markets and Institutions. From the Seventeenth Century to the Present / Ed. by J. Atack, L. Neal. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. P. 71-98 [in English].
Michie R. The Global Securities Market. A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 395 p. [in English].
Munro J. The Origins of the Modern Financial Revolution: Responses to Impediments from Church and State in Western Europe, 1200-1600. University of Toronto Working Paper. 2001. Vol. 2. P. 3-19 [in English].
Mints O., Shchepka O., Tolkachova-Mints A. Suchasni y tradytsiini investytsiini instrumenty: etyka y perspektyvy vykorystannia. Visnyk Pryazovskoho Derzhavnoho Tekhnichnoho Universytetu. Seriia: Ekonomichni nauky. 2024. No 1(39). S. 128-140. https://doi.org/10.31498/2225-6725.1(39).2024.315345 [in Ukrainian].
Havrylina A. Evoliutsiia naukovoi dumky u doslidzhennia zmistu ta sutnosti investytsii, yak ekonomichnoi katehorii. Stalyi rozvytok ekonomiky. 2024. No 2(49). S. 337-345. https://doi.org/10.32782/2308-1988/2024-49-54 [in Ukrainian].
Moshenskyi S. Zarodzhennia finansovoho kapitalizmu. Doindustrialna epokha. Kyiv: Kreatyvna ahentsiia "Artil", 2024. 288 s. [in Ukrainian].
Dzhusov O.A., Apalkov S.S. Tsyfrova ekonomika: strukturni zrushennia na mizhnarodnomu rynku kapitalu. Mizhnarodni vidnosyny. Seriia "Ekonomichni nauky". Kyiv, 2017. URL: http://journals.iir.kiev.ua/index.php/ec_n/article/view/3058 [in Ukrainian].
Casson M. Coase and International Business: The Origin and Development of Internalisation Theory. Managerial and Decision Economics. 2014. Vol. 36(1). P. 55-66. https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.2706 [in English].
Kovalenko Yu., Hulei A., Unynets-Khodakivska V., Riabokin M. Sekiurytyzatsiia finansovykh aktyviv: sutnist ta prychyny poshyrennia v ekonomichnykh protsesakh. Problemy i perspektyvy ekonomiky ta upravlinnia. 2022. No 4(28). S. 177-185 [in Ukrainian].
Riabokin M.V., Kotukh Ye.V. Kontseptualni osnovy RWA-tokenizatsii v tsyfrovii ekonomitsi. Visnyk Kyivskoho instytutu biznesu ta tekhnolohii. 2024. No 51(2). S. 138-155. https://doi.org/10.37203/kibit.2024.51(2).12 [in Ukrainian].
Riabokin M., Kotukh Y. RWA-tokenization as a Tool for Attracting Investments and Developing Post-war Ukraine. Global Scientific and Academic Research Journal of Economics, Business and Management. 2024. Vol. 3. No 11. P. 64-77 [in English].
Riabokin M.V., Kotukh Ye.V. Methods of Optimizing Financial Flows of Territorial Hromadas Using RWA Tokenization. Aktualni problemy Ekonomiky. 2025. No 1. P. 57-70. DOI: 10.32752/1993-6788-2025-1-283-57-70 [in English].
Bridging the TradFi-DeFi Gap: The Future of Finance Depends on Traditional Trust and Regulation. URL: https://cleartoken.io/news-insights/thought-leadership/white-paper-bridging-the-tradfi-defi-gap/ [in English].
Petram L. The World's First Stock Exchange. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. 296 p. [in English].
Hulei A.I., Kotukh Ye.V., Riabokin M.V. RWA-tokenizatsiia yak innovatsiinyi mekhanizm zaluchennia investytsii ta zbilshennia nadkhodzhen mistsevykh biudzhetiv. Ekonomika ta suspilstvo. 2024. No 64. https://doi.org/10.32782/2524-0072/2024-64-22 [in Ukrainian].
Hartman J. An Empire of Trade: Commercial Reason of State in Seventeenth Century Holland. The Political Economy of Empire in the Early Modern World / Ed. S.A. Reinert, P. Roge. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. P. 11-23 [in English].
Krasnozhon S.V. Suchasni teorii investuvannia. Naukovi pratsi Natsionalnoho universytetu kharchovykh tekhnolohii. 2012. No 47. S. 201-203 [in Ukrainian].