Main Points:
- Wealth management is undergoing a transformation similar to what Shopify did for e-commerce.
- On-chain tools are lowering barriers to entry for financial advisory businesses.
- Digital-native investors demand open, fee-free, and self-managed financial solutions.
- Tokenization is revolutionizing investment opportunities by enabling fractional ownership and liquidity.
- A new breed of registered investment advisors (RIAs) is emerging to cater to crypto-native clients.
- This paradigm shift benefits investors by providing more choice, transparency, and control over their assets.
The Wealth Management Revolution: Parallels with Shopify’s E-commerce Transformation
The evolution of wealth management today mirrors what Shopify accomplished for e-commerce: lowering the entry barriers for millions of individuals to start online businesses. Shopify democratized e-commerce by removing supply chain restrictions, making it possible for anyone with a product to create a global online store with just a few clicks. Before its emergence, building and managing an e-commerce site required substantial capital and effort, a reality that limited the playing field to large retailers.
This transformation created an enormous new market, with Shopify now valued at over $100 billion. A similar disruption is happening in the financial world as on-chain tools democratize access to wealth management and financial advisory services. Miguel Kudry highlights how these tools are removing the barriers that previously made it difficult for new entrants to thrive in the financial advisory industry.
Just as Shopify simplified e-commerce for small businesses, on-chain solutions are simplifying financial management for individuals and small RIAs. These tools provide users with unprecedented access to financial markets and services, enabling them to bypass traditional financial intermediaries.
WealthTech and the Digital-Native Investor
The wealth management industry is historically complex, fragmented, and heavily regulated. Custodians often place restrictive operational and compliance requirements on advisors, creating significant friction and cost in managing client assets. This has led to increased consolidation as smaller RIAs get acquired by larger firms that can leverage economies of scale. However, this strategy may face challenges as wealth transfers from baby boomers to millennials and Generation Z, many of whom have grown disillusioned with traditional finance.
Digital-native investors, who expect seamless, fee-free access to their wealth, are pushing the boundaries of what wealth management should look like. For these younger investors, money and assets are more than just a number on a screen—they represent power and freedom. These users are accustomed to decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions that allow them to retain control over their funds without paying middlemen.
As a result, wealth management is undergoing its own “Shopify-ification.” Similar to how Shopify enabled millions to create online stores, on-chain financial tools are enabling a new wave of RIAs to enter the market and offer their services with much lower overhead.
The Rise of On-Chain Tools and Self-Custody
According to a Coinbase survey, approximately 20% of Americans—around 52 million people—own cryptocurrencies. Once individuals experience the freedom and power of holding assets on-chain, their view of off-chain, traditional assets shifts significantly. For the first time in history, financial advisors can now work with clients to manage assets that clients themselves hold on-chain. This shift to self-custody opens the door to new possibilities.
Traditional RIAs typically work with custodians to manage client assets. Clients either have to grant access to their financial advisors or create new accounts through which the advisor can manage their assets. In contrast, self-custody introduces a new paradigm where investors can control their assets without relying on custodians. Advisors can offer guidance without needing control over the assets themselves.
This evolution allows multiple advisors to provide specialized advice on the same portfolio, while the assets remain securely under the client’s control. What used to take weeks to arrange through a custodian can now be executed in minutes with a single on-chain signature, drastically reducing the time and cost involved in receiving financial advice.
Tokenization: The Financial World’s SKU Revolution
Just as the smallest stock-keeping unit (SKU) revolutionized retail inventory management, tokenization is transforming the investment landscape. Tokenization enables fractional ownership, improved liquidity, and broader access to diverse asset classes—all of which are set to become available on-chain in the near future. In this new environment, investors will have the power to manage their entire investment portfolio with a single wallet signature.
This shift allows service providers to focus less on operational challenges and more on generating, protecting, and growing client wealth. Similarly, asset managers can take a direct-to-consumer approach, offering products and services that bypass traditional intermediaries.
Tokenized assets will enable investors to access everything from real estate to fine art, and stocks to bonds, all on-chain. As this ecosystem matures, we are likely to see a significant shift toward greater accessibility and liquidity for previously illiquid or restricted asset classes.
The Emergence of Crypto-Native RIAs
A new type of RIA is poised to serve the growing number of crypto-native clients. As with e-commerce, where anyone could launch a Shopify store, on-chain financial tools are enabling qualified financial professionals to provide advisory services on-chain. These new advisors will cater to a generation that has grown up with blockchain technology and expects their financial services to be as decentralized, transparent, and efficient as the rest of their digital lives.
This democratization of wealth management will ultimately benefit investors. It provides them with more choices and the ability to seek out advice from the best experts for their specific financial goals and needs. The open and transparent nature of on-chain assets makes it possible for investors to choose and combine different forms of expertise, creating a tailored wealth management experience.
Empowering the Next Generation of Investors
The “Shopify-ification” of wealth management is here, and it’s transforming the financial services landscape. On-chain tools are democratizing access to wealth management, just as Shopify did for e-commerce. For the next generation of investors, these tools offer unprecedented control, transparency, and the ability to seek out and combine expert advice from multiple sources. As tokenization becomes more prevalent and new RIAs emerge to meet the demand of crypto-native clients, investors will benefit from a more open, efficient, and accessible financial ecosystem.
The future of wealth management is bright, and the biggest winners will be the investors themselves.
