Tokenized products already exist, but primarily for investment. The most popular category is tokenized money market funds, primarily backed by US Treasuries. The largest, BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), debuted in March 2024.
This category now has more than $15 billion of assets under management (AUM), with the broader onchain real-world asset market (excluding stablecoins) exceeding $31 billion in value. Casting a wider net to include assets such as alternative investments and tokenized financial infrastructures, the global asset tokenization market is valued at around $2.1 trillion.
According to forecasts from Grand View Research, the sector is expected to reach $24.5 trillion by 2033, with some industry estimates suggesting that tokenized markets could reach as much as $88 trillion by 2035.
The main advantage they offer is 24/7 instant execution and fractional ownership, which allows traders to buy small portions at any time, with all phases of the transaction – including buying, selling and final processing – completed instantly.
Faster, cheaper
It is not the focus of institutional investors, who are more interested in the characteristics of the tokenized assets than their ease of trading.
“Generally, they don’t ask for tokens,” Lai said. “They’re asking what tokens can do more than the existing wrappers they already have.”
