The tokenization of real-world assets has shifted from an early experiment to an undeniable financial reality. In late August 2025, tokenized assets on public blockchains surpassed $28 billion, with U.S. Treasuries alone representing more than $6.6 billion in value. What was once confined to niche projects has matured into one of the most dynamic areas of blockchain adoption.
Institutional momentum is central to this shift. From private equity to real estate debt and structured credit, some of the largest and least transparent asset classes are being digitized. This move is not just happening on general-purpose blockchains but through infrastructure designed to manage compliance, automate restrictions, and establish durable standards for liquidity.
Large global banks are already conducting tokenized repo transactions worth billions, demonstrating how tokenization reduces counterparty risk and speeds capital flows by cutting settlement times from days to hours. Leading investment firms have begun issuing tokenized bonds on private blockchains, while asset managers are testing tokenized Treasury funds on public networks. These initiatives are not innovation for its own sake; they are targeted steps to lower risk, broaden distribution, and reduce friction in some of finance’s most systemically important markets.
If tokenization is to scale into the trillions, it cannot rely on ad-hoc smart contracts that leave issuers exposed to regulatory uncertainty. The foundations must embed compliance and governance so that assets created on-chain carry the same protections as their traditional counterparts. Only with this approach can institutional adoption continue to accelerate without introducing new risks.
