The global tokenized asset market is poised to reach $18.9 trillion by 2033, driven by the growth of real-world assets and blockchain technology.
The Future of Tokenized Asset Markets: $18.9 Trillion by 2033
The market for tokenized financial instruments, also known as real-world assets (RWAs), is projected to reach $18.9 trillion by 2033, according to a joint report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and payments-focused digital asset infrastructure firm Ripple.
A tokenized asset market is a digital marketplace where assets, such as real estate, art, or collectibles, are represented by unique tokens on a blockchain.
These tokens can be bought, sold, and traded like cryptocurrencies.
Tokenization allows for fractional ownership, increased liquidity, and reduced transaction costs.
According to a report, the global tokenized asset market is expected to reach $14.4 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 55%.
The use of blockchain technology ensures transparency, security, and efficiency in transactions.
The Growth of Tokenization
Tokenization is the process of using blockchain rails to record ownership and move assets, such as securities, commodities, and real estate. This technology has gained significant attention in recent years, with several global traditional financial firms pursuing tokenization to achieve efficiency gains, faster and cheaper settlements, and around-the-clock transactions.
Several use cases have emerged as promising areas for growth, including the tokenized government bonds, U.S. Treasuries, which allow corporate treasurers to seamlessly shift idle cash into tokenized short-term government bonds from digital wallets without any intermediaries. Private credit is another sector drawing attention, offering access to traditionally opaque and illiquid markets while providing investors with clearer pricing and fractional ownership.
Challenges Ahead
Despite the growth potential of tokenization, several challenges still linger, including fragmented infrastructure, limited interoperability across platforms, uneven regulatory progress, inconsistent custody frameworks, and lack of smart contract standardization. Most tokenized assets today settle in isolation, with off-chain cash legs limiting efficiency gains.
Tokenized assets are digital representations of real-world assets, such as stocks, bonds, and commodities.
They allow for fractional ownership and increased liquidity.
However, tokenized assets also face challenges, including regulatory uncertainty, security risks, and market volatility.
According to a report by Deloitte, 71% of institutional investors are interested in tokenized assets, but only 22% have invested.
The lack of standardization and interoperability between platforms is another significant challenge.
Regulatory clarity varies significantly by region, with some countries developing comprehensive legal frameworks for tokenized securities and infrastructure, while others remain restrictive or undefined. This uneven progress complicates cross-border operations and forces firms to tailor their infrastructure market-by-market.
The Path Forward
Early adopters are expanding rapidly, and the report identifies three phases of tokenization: low-risk adoption of familiar instruments like bonds and funds; expansion into complex products such as private credit and real estate; and full market transformation, including illiquid assets like infrastructure and private equity. Most firms are currently in the first or second phase, with scalability hinging on regulatory alignment and infrastructure maturity.
Tokenization can unlock meaningful savings for processes such as bond issuances, real estate fund tokenization, and collateral management, driving further growth. Cost is becoming less of a constraint for firms, with focused tokenization projects now launching for under $2 million, while end-to-end integrations covering issuance, custody, compliance, and trading can cost up to $100 million for large institutions.
However, without industry-wide coordinated action, the same silos and fragmentation that tokenization seeks to eliminate could reemerge in digital form.
Industry coordination refers to the process of aligning and harmonizing activities among various stakeholders within a specific industry.
This can include manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and regulatory bodies.
Effective industry coordination enables efficient supply chain management, reduces costs, and improves product quality.
It also facilitates information sharing, risk management, and compliance with regulations.
Industry coordination is crucial in today's globalized economy, where companies often rely on complex networks of partners and suppliers.
- coindesk.com | Ripple, BCG Project $18.9T Tokenized Asset Market by 2033
