Financial institutions are accelerating their adoption of blockchain-based financial infrastructure, with tokenization emerging as a way to expand investor access, enter new markets and improve the structure of traditional investment products, according to Fidelity Investments’ digital asset leadership.
Matthew Horne, head of digital asset strategists at Fidelity, said institutional momentum toward onchain finance had reached a point where reversing course was unlikely. Speaking during a panel at Longitude Singapore on Thursday, he pointed to developments over the previous 18 months as evidence of a sustained shift among major financial players.
Horne noted that US asset managers have particular incentives to tokenize investment products, as blockchain-based distribution could help them reach investors and markets that have traditionally been harder to access.
Data from RWA.xyz highlights the growing interest in the sector. The number of holders of tokenized real-world assets, excluding stablecoins, exceeded 493,000 after increasing 41% over the preceding 30 days.
Financial infrastructure could unlock the next phase of tokenization
The adoption of tokenized US Treasuries and equities could significantly expand the market, according to Ka Yan Chan, head of digital assets business development at UBS. These assets are central to conventional portfolio construction and could bring substantial volumes of financial products onto blockchain networks.
Chan argued that the transition could accelerate if major market infrastructure institutions, including the Federal Reserve or the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), begin moving custody systems onto tokenized platforms. Other industry participants could then build distribution services around the infrastructure established by these institutions.
Regulatory developments in the United States have already begun opening the door to new tokenization models. In December 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a no-action letter to a DTCC subsidiary concerning a proposed securities tokenization service. The SEC also approved a temporary exemption in September permitting limited trading of tokenized US stocks on certain blockchain-based venues.
Meanwhile, Securitize announced the launch of trading in tokenized shares representing 12 widely held US-listed stocks, further expanding the range of traditional securities available through onchain infrastructure.
Capital flows signal growing market activity
The broader digital asset market is also seeing increased capital movement. OnchainBenchmark data showed that more than $1.2 billion flowed onchain over the previous 30 days, bringing the combined value of stablecoins and tokenized assets above $323 billion.
Longer-term projections point to further expansion. In August, Standard Chartered global head of digital asset research Geoff Kendrick forecast that tokenized real-world assets could reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028.
While institutional participation and regulatory progress are supporting the sector’s development, the pace of adoption will depend partly on how quickly established financial infrastructure accommodates blockchain-based assets. The involvement of major market institutions could prove particularly important in determining whether tokenization moves beyond early-stage initiatives into broader financial market operations.
