Financial institutions pursuing asset tokenization face a critical talent gap, according to Michael Shaulov, CEO of Fireblocks. Speaking at the Stellar Development Foundation's Meridian 2026 conference, Shaulov said banks need experienced blockchain engineers and digital asset experts to move their tokenization strategies from pilot to production.
"They need more people from the industry to go into those institutions to help them," Shaulov said.
The gap matters because tokenization—converting real-world assets into blockchain-native instruments—requires deep expertise in smart contract development, custody architecture and regulatory compliance that traditional finance teams don't possess. Banks exploring tokenization across real estate, securities and commodities need engineers who understand both legacy settlement infrastructure and distributed ledger mechanics.
Fireblocks, which provides institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure for custody and issuance, works directly with financial entities building out tokenization capabilities. The company's clients include major banks and asset managers testing tokenized securities and real estate on public and private blockchains.
The shortage spans engineering, compliance, risk management and product roles tailored to digital assets. Traditional finance institutions often lack internal skill sets to facing blockchain's technical stack and the evolving regulatory landscape simultaneously.
This talent deficit slows enterprise adoption. Scaling tokenization at the institutional level—moving capital markets infrastructure onto blockchain—requires workforces fluent in both traditional finance operations and distributed ledger technology.
