Witness tells Senate digital assets and tokenization can cut remittance and transaction costs

Cody Carbone, chief executive officer of the Digital Chamber, told senators that a principal affordability problem is the hidden cost of moving money and ownership records and urged Congress to finish statutory clarity for stablecoins and tokenized assets.

"It costs 6.5% to send, more than double the international target, and takes three to five days to arrive," Carbone said, arguing that lower-cost, dollar-backed stablecoins could let families send the full dollar amount and receive funds in seconds. He added tokenization of property records could cut closing and transfer costs by substantial percentages, saying independent analysts estimate tokenization can cut transaction costs "by 35 to 65%."

Carbone framed his recommendations in three areas: cheaper cross-border payment rails for remittances, more competition in everyday payments through regulated stablecoins, and blockchain-based tokenization to streamline real-estate closing. He urged completing the Clarity Act and building on the GENIUS Act to keep these activities onshore and to allow banks to issue compliant products.

Senators pressed witnesses later about how these markets are developing and whether merchants and banks will pass savings on to consumers. Carbone pointed to early merchant incentives and existing business-to-business stablecoin use as evidence of near-term effects but acknowledged that statutory clarity and appropriate regulation are needed to scale those options for ordinary households.

The committee did not take legislative action in the hearing itself; witnesses were asked to supply further details for the record.