Tokenization, born in decentralized finance, is now moving into the core of traditional markets. With tokenized real-world assets (RWA) approaching $40 billion, the trend is changing scale. From US Treasuries to bank payments and AI infrastructure, this article examines the key figures and the constraints that remain.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- The RWA sector is valued at nearly $40 billion, up more than 2,200% over two years.
- Tokenized US Treasuries account for $14.7 billion of that total.
- Mastercard (BVNK, $1.8 billion) and Stripe (OpenRouter, $8 billion) are betting on tokenized payments and AI.
- The IMF flags four main hurdles: legal certainty, regulatory clarity, interoperability and settlement assets.
An Industrialization Phase Goes Global
According to RWA.xyz, the total value of the real-world asset sector now approaches $40 billion, a rise of more than 2,200% over the past two years. US Treasuries tokenized on-chain make up $14.7 billion of that figure on their own. The numbers point to a shift in purpose: blockchains are no longer used only to create native crypto assets, but to represent existing assets on programmable ledgers.
In a publication titled “The tokenization of the world is underway,” Romain Liquard, an analyst at Credit Agricole, argues that tokenization, the conversion of an asset into a digital token (token) recorded on a blockchain, has clearly entered a phase of global industrialization. It bundles functions that were once handled by separate institutions and infrastructures, including issuance, trading, settlement and asset management.
Liquard points to an acceleration since last July, marked by two developments in particular:
- the launch of Pontes, the infrastructure the European Central Bank (ECB) has built for tokenized assets;
- the first customer transactions in tokenized sterling, carried out by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo and NatWest.
Payments and AI: Traditional Players Join the Race
In payments, Mastercard acquired the startup BVNK in August for $1.8 billion. That deal underpins its recently launched Global Money Platform, a modular offering that combines bank accounts, stablecoins (crypto tokens pegged to a fiat currency) and payments in a single interface.
OpenRouter: A Bet on the AI Token Economy
Stripe’s acquisition of OpenRouter for $8 billion gives the company a notable position in a new market. OpenRouter, backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), says it now processes more than 19 trillion tokens a day across more than 500 AI models.
“a distinctive position in the AI token economy”
Romain Liquard, Analyst, Credit Agricole
Several protocols are paving the way for payments initiated by software agents. Anthropic’s MCP, Google’s Agent Payments Protocol and Coinbase’s x402 let an AI agent, which handles language tokens, trigger a purchase settled in stablecoins or tokenized deposits (financial tokens).
Financialization of these resources is also beginning. In May, the Shanghai Futures Exchange was studying futures contracts indexed to AI tokens. In August, CME Group announced plans for futures based on the rental prices of two Nvidia processors, pending approval from the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission).
Real Volumes and Structural Constraints
According to the IMF, most tokenized activity takes place in the repo market (short-term loans secured by government bonds), with an average daily volume of $300 to $350 billion. Trading of tokenized assets such as credit, money market funds and equities adds $65 billion. Despite rapid growth, these volumes remain small next to their conventional equivalents.
| Segment | Tokenized volume | Conventional benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Repo markets | $300 to $350 billion per day | US repo market: about $13 trillion per day |
| Tokenized asset trading | $65 billion | Global capital markets: $300 trillion |
The IMF identifies four constraints slowing tokenization:
- Legal certainty: investors must be confident that tokenized assets give them enforceable rights.
- Regulatory clarity: authorities must explain how existing rules apply to new ledgers.
- Interoperability across platforms, which often remain isolated pools of liquidity.
- Availability of appropriate settlement assets.
Observed behavior is telling. According to the IMF, more than half of tokenized transactions occur outside regular trading hours. About 80% of the transactions analyzed did not involve whole shares, pointing to fractional ownership. Overnight returns on tokenized equities also feed into conventional share prices shortly after the open, suggesting both markets respond to similar information.
The IMF also warns that scaling amplifies risks: fire sales, liquidity runs, contagion driven by deeper financial interdependence and leverage.
Tokenized ETFs, 2030 Outlook and the Regulatory Frame
A global study by Nickel Digital Asset Management, a London-based manager of digital asset hedge funds, sees tokenized exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as a possible route to mass adoption. Of 260 institutional investors and wealth managers surveyed in January 2026 across the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Switzerland, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, 97% believe tokenized ETFs could play that role, and 32% call it very important. The sample included 108 respondents who do not yet invest in cryptocurrencies or digital assets but plan to within 24 months.
“Tokenization is quickly moving from theory to real adoption, as institutional investors get familiar with its benefits and major players enter the market. When firms like BlackRock commit, it fundamentally changes the conversation.”
Anatoly Crachilov, CEO and Founding Partner, Nickel Digital Asset Management
Sentiment on growth is strong: 70% of respondents expect the number of fund managers seeking to tokenize funds and asset classes to keep rising over the next three years. The greatest potential lies in private markets, with seven in ten respondents naming private equity as the most promising asset class, ahead of fixed income (55%) and listed equities (42%).
Respondents also cited a range of obstacles:
- 73%: distribution challenges;
- 70%: the immaturity of service providers;
- 62%: security risks;
- 60%: resistance to change;
- 57%: the still-limited number of tokenized assets;
- 28%: the lack of track record or roadmap.
A report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and ADDX estimates that asset tokenization could represent a commercial opportunity of $16.1 trillion by 2030. By consolidating on a single ledger steps that are now sequential, it could reshape how markets work. Existing use cases range from agriculture, where farmers can tokenize harvests and pledge them as collateral from a mobile phone to secure financing, to real estate, where buyers could acquire tokens instead of paying mortgage installments. Artificial intelligence is also being used to optimize tokenized portfolios by analyzing market data in real time.
Regulation remains the central challenge. Platforms must meet strict standards such as the European MiCA framework (Markets in Crypto-Assets), which imposes transparency and reporting obligations. Interoperability between blockchains is still a major hurdle, and smart contracts must be audited regularly to prevent security flaws.
Conclusion: A Real Trajectory, Guardrails Still Under Construction
Tokenization has moved beyond the experimental stage. Volumes remain modest compared with conventional markets, but the direction is clear: central banks, commercial banks, payment networks and AI players are all committing. The question is no longer only technological; it is legal, regulatory and operational.
In a base case, growth continues at the pace of institutional adoption, with gradual gains in liquidity and interoperability. In a more favorable scenario, the arrival of tokenized ETFs and regulatory clarity could accelerate the migration of volumes. Conversely, a major security incident or leverage-driven contagion would bring back the risks highlighted by the IMF. Tracking actual volumes rather than announcements remains the most reliable benchmark.
Sources
- Cryptoast: Payments, finance, AI: the tokenization of the world is underway
- SBS Software: Tokenization and the future of finance
- IMF: What is needed for tokenization to deliver
- Finance Investissement: Tokenization could go through ETFs
- Innowise: Asset tokenization
- Decision IA: Asset tokenization, AI and digital portfolio management
Cet article est publié à titre informatif et éducatif. Il ne constitue en aucun cas un conseil en investissement. Faites vos propres recherches (DYOR) avant toute décision.
