Tokenization is expected to change the way value moves across global systems and have a significant impact on financial markets.
According to CryptoNews on the 24th (local time), a report by blockchain company Ripple and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on April 7th estimated that the market for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) will reach $18.9 trillion by 2033. The World Economic Forum predicts that tokenization could account for 10% of global GDP by 2027. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, also mentioned in his recent annual letter to investors that "all assets can be tokenized".
Sam Mudie, co-founder and CEO of fintech platform Savea, told CryptoNews in an interview that for the tokenized real-world assets market to reach $18.9 trillion, tokenization must be able to solve real problems.
"This is not simply packaging traditional assets with new technology. Growth has only occurred where utility is clear. For example, using stablecoins for dollar accessibility or using government bonds for yield and efficiency," Mudie said.
Utility adoption appears to be already underway. According to a recent survey by Keyrock and Centrifuge, stablecoins are already a $210 billion market, functioning as digital dollars. Beyond stablecoins, the on-chain real-world asset value reached $15.2 billion last year, with increasing use cases in private bonds, commodities, real estate, and bonds.
In particular, tokenized US Treasury products doubled from $1 billion to $2 billion in 2024 and have already exceeded $4 billion this year. Considering this, tokenized US Treasuries seem to be one of the best use cases for real-world assets going forward.
According to the report by Keyrock and Centrifuge, the US Treasury market, with over $28 trillion in outstanding debt, represents the largest and most systemically important financial market in the world. However, the infrastructure supporting Treasury trading remains inefficient due to multiple parties causing settlement delays, fragmentation, and operational complexity.
Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder of distributed oracle network RedStone, told CryptoNews that tokenized US Treasuries are gaining popularity. They function like regular Treasuries but are represented as digital assets on the blockchain.
"Treasuries are debt securities issued by the government for a short period to fund public expenditure. This is one of the fundamentals of the global economy. Tokenized US Treasuries provide broader accessibility to exposure to the yields from these Treasuries," Kazmierczak said.
Kazmierczak pointed out that BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), issued by Securitize, is growing for several reasons. "Above all, BlackRock is the world's largest asset management institution with $10 trillion in AUM. Securitize has been very effective in expanding BUIDL's adoption along with other projects like Ethena's USDtb backup. Lastly, it's the upcoming convergence of DeFi and on-chain finance that will be opened by RedStone's price feed for BUIDL."
The USDtb stablecoin was launched in collaboration with tokenization platform Securitize, with 90% of reserves allocated to BlackRock's BUIDL fund. Kazmierczak explained that USDtb can be used as collateral in established funding markets like Aave while allowing financial products such as BUIDL daily rate swaps.
"This opens up completely new market opportunities across the evolving real-world assets sector," he added.
An example of tokenized Treasuries is the Janus Henderson Anemoy Treasury Fund, launched on Centrifuge and rated Aa by Moody's and A+ by Particula. The fund provides institutional access to US Treasuries on-chain with redemptions up to $125 million at all times of the day.
The report by Keyrock and Centrifuge notes that the success of stablecoins as a tokenized representation of the US dollar shows the potential behind tokenized Treasuries and commodities. However, while on-chain Treasury assets now reach $4 billion, this is only 2% of the total stablecoin market capitalization, indicating a significant need for expansion.
Tokenized stocks are also expected to exceed a market capitalization of $1 trillion. According to RWA.xyz data, tokenized stocks account for a total market capitalization of approximately $370 million as of April 23rd.
Arnab Naskar, CEO of tokenized investment platform STOKR, said at the TokenizeThis conference in New York that while it's difficult to estimate the total addressable market for tokenized stocks, it is "certainly a market in the trillions of dollars".
In fact, this figure is expected to increase as traditional stock markets face challenges such as trading hours, batch settlements, and access restrictions. Like tokenized Treasuries, blockchain-based solutions can facilitate 24/7 trading, near-instant settlement, and direct ownership transfer.
Currently, Coinbase is considering making its stock's tokenized shares available on Base, an Ethereum Layer-2 network. The proposed "Broker-Dealer Tokenization Act" in the US aims to grant broker-dealers the authority to issue and trade securities on a distributed ledger.
High-end wines, artworks, and collectibles are being tokenized as physical assets to improve accessibility and liquidity. "The market for such tokenized luxury physical assets, currently at $50 million, is expected to reach $10 billion by 2033," Moody said. "I am optimistic, but only if the focus remains on utility rather than novelty."
Projects like Crurated, a tokenized high-end wine marketplace, seem to be tokenizing millions of dollars worth of premium assets. Crurated's CEO, Alfonso De Gaetano, told Crypto News that the platform has tokenized over $60 million in high-end wine assets, covering more than 300,000 bottles.
"Contrary to theoretical predictions, our growth trajectory shows the actual market interest in this technology. We have connected over 200 elite producers with more than 10,000 collectors. This demonstrates that blockchain truly solves market issues of provenance, authenticity, and liquidity," De Gaetano stated.
According to De Gaetano, the wine market is approaching $500 billion globally, but secondary trading is only $9 billion today due to friction, trust issues, and high fees. He believes blockchain helps remove these barriers and grow the secondary market.
"The key is solving practical problems. Our blockchain infrastructure can provide verified provenance for every bottle, address high fees charged by traditional auction houses (up to 30%), and potentially reduce transaction timelines from months to minutes," he said.
Like tokenized government bonds and stocks, De Gaetano shared that stablecoins are a core component of Crurated's business model. "Stablecoins facilitate safe and frictionless transactions across regions and minimize fees for both buyers and sellers. This global payment layer is essential in creating a truly efficient market for premium assets like high-end wines with international trading," he said.
While tokenized physical asset growth is inevitable, regulatory challenges will slow adoption. Centrifuge's CEO, Bhaji Illuminati, believes the tokenized physical asset market will reach $19 trillion by 2033 but notes that clear and consistent standards and regulatory guidelines for stablecoins are still needed.
"Without that foundation, many institutions have been hesitant to fully participate," Illuminati said.
Fortunately, progress is being made in this area. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently said establishing a legal framework for stablecoins is a "good idea".
Bo Hines, standing director of Trump's Digital Asset Advisory Council, also stated that a comprehensive stablecoin bill is a top priority for the current administration. After the Senate Banking Committee passed the GENIUS Act, Hines mentioned the final stablecoin bill could arrive on the president's desk "within the next two months".
While regulation remains unclear, reports from Kirock and Centrifuge indicate 2025 will be a breakthrough year for tokenized physical assets, expected to increase to around $50 billion. This will occur due to increased demand for such assets, along with technological and regulatory improvements.
