Real‑world asset tokenization reached $30 billion in on‑chain value by mid‑2026, led by institutions such as BlackRock, JPMorgan and Franklin Templeton.

The on‑chain market grew from roughly $5.5 billion at the start of 2025 to about $30 billion by June 2026. Tokenized US Treasuries represented $12.9 billion and private credit $19 billion, while tokenized gold amounted to $5.5 billion. The activity is driven primarily by large financial firms that are creating tokenized funds and settlement systems, not by retail traders.

BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, a tokenized money‑market product, exceeded $2.5 billion in assets, and chief executive Larry Fink described tokenization as the next generation for markets, likening the current stage to the internet in 1996 and envisioning a unified digital ledger for all assets. JPMorgan operates a blockchain platform that processes large volumes of tokenized transactions, and other banks such as Goldman Sachs, HSBC and UBS have piloted similar initiatives. Institutions cite reduced operational costs, near‑instant settlement, 24/7 trading and programmable compliance features.

Tokenized assets fall into several categories: US Treasuries and money‑market funds, private credit loans, commodities such as gold, equities and exchange‑traded funds, real‑estate stakes, and bonds. Each category carries distinct legal and risk profiles, and the enforceability of token claims depends on the underlying legal structure and custodian arrangements.

Risks include dependence on the legal framework that defines token rights, counterparty and custodial exposure, regulatory uncertainty, smart‑contract and oracle vulnerabilities, liquidity constraints that limit transfers to approved addresses, and central control through issuer‑owned administrative keys. Only about $2.5 billion of the $30 billion on‑chain value is currently active in decentralized finance, reflecting compliance restrictions.

Analysts project the market could reach between $2 trillion and $16 trillion by 2030, though the timeline and regulatory environment remain unclear.

The sector’s rapid growth highlights a shift of traditional finance toward blockchain infrastructure, yet the extent to which tokenized assets will achieve broader adoption and regulatory clarity is still uncertain.