Zoho founder and ex-CEO Sridhar Vembu responded to Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s X post about tokenisation of land assets. Talking about how 50% of assets owned by Indians is in the form of land which is tradeable, Nilekani shared an X post highlighting the importance of tokenisation of land. Sharing a minute-long video, he wrote “The time is right for another massive unlock: Tokenisation of land assets”. Replying to Nilekani’s post, Vembu voiced his concerns about the risks of treating land as a liquid asset.
He wrote:
This idea “tokenization of land assets to unlock wealth” relies on the crucial assumption “making every asset liquid and tradeable is always a value creating activity”. In other words “make every asset more money like”.
I call that assumption the Fundamental Axiom of Financialization.
“It is very seductive – after all, what is wrong with every asset being liquid and tradeable, being more money like?,” Vembu stated adding “Yet when we financialize every asset and thereby increase their moneyness, it eventually would lead to extreme concentration. How so? As an example, a person with a gambling or drinking problem could now easily monetize a part of their home to fund their habit.”
“Is that far fetched? Not at all.”
Finance is seduction: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu
In the post, Vembu further stated, “Finance is seduction. Companies would arise to offer “instant cash out” of tokens on farm land, homes and so on. I am afraid where this path would lead.”
He concluded saying “Ancient wisdom born of experience tells us that finance should be carefully controlled. Left unchecked, finance can lead to ruin.”
An X user replied to Vembu saying “Every tool is neutral until you pick it up. A knife can serve a meal or take a life. It’s never the tool — it’s the human behind it,”. To this, the Zoho founder hit back stating “We do regulate tools like dynamite!”.
