Crypto Exec Warns Tokenization Is Moving Faster Than Expected

Tokenization is sprinting past projections—and the industry is scrambling to keep up.

The Acceleration No One Predicted

Forget the cautious roadmaps and phased rollouts. A leading crypto executive just dropped a bombshell: the shift to tokenizing real-world assets—from real estate to bonds—isn't just on track. It's accelerating. The timeline everyone penciled in? Toss it. The infrastructure debate? It's happening in real-time, on-chain.

Why the Sudden Sprint?

The fuse was lit by a perfect storm. Institutional FOMO finally met usable rails. Traditional finance, always a step behind, looked up and saw a functioning parallel system—one that cuts intermediaries, bypasses legacy settlement, and operates 24/7. The old guard's hesitation is now their biggest liability. (A classic finance move: wait for a sure thing, then pay a premium to catch up.)

The New Playing Field

This isn't just about creating digital twins of assets anymore. It's about rewriting the rulebook for liquidity, ownership, and value exchange. The race isn't to participate—it's to define the standards. Protocols that win this layer will capture the next decade of value.

The genie isn't just out of the bottle. It's building its own, better bottle. And Wall Street is left holding the instruction manual for the old one.

Regulatory Signals Push Institutions Forward

Based on reports cited by Grossman, progress has accelerated because rules are becoming clearer. Legislative efforts, regulatory guidance, bank involvement and accounting standards are starting to line up.

That combination reduces uncertainty, which is often what slows large pools of capital. BlackRock has already launched tokenized funds, while Franklin Templeton is running tokenized money market funds on public blockchains.

Those actions suggest that tokenization is no longer confined to pilot labs or internal trials. It is being used with real assets and real clients.

Bank of America recently said that banks are heading toward a multi-year, onchain future. A few years ago, that WOULD have sounded radical. Today, it sounds inevitable.

20+ years ago, I began my career in media and saw firsthand what happens when an analog industry collides with…

— Keith A. Grossman (@KeithGrossman) December 21, 2025

Tokenization: Big Players Making Their Presence Felt

Banks are also taking part. Citi, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have all been linked to onchain settlement tests, tokenized deposits and NEAR real-time asset transfers.

These projects focus on reducing friction in back-end processes that have existed for decades. Settlement that once took days could be shortened to minutes if shared ledgers are used. That change alone alters how risk, liquidity and cost are managed across markets.

Grossman framed the moment as similar to earlier shifts in other industries. He pointed to how legacy media struggled when distribution moved online more than 20 years ago.

At the time, many firms tried to protect old revenue streams instead of adapting. Some survived by changing early. Others lost influence as new platforms took control.

In finance, the pressure point sits in areas such as reconciliation, clearing, settlement and custody. These roles have long supported steady margins, partly because they depend on complex and slow systems.

Reports have disclosed that software and shared protocols can now handle much of that work. As a result, some services may become cheaper and less profitable over time.

That does not mean banks disappear. According to Grossman’s view, they remain central players, much like they did after ATMs reduced teller roles or when voice-over-internet systems cut long-distance call costs for telecom firms.

The institutions stayed, but their shape changed. The same pattern is expected here. Banks may rely more on software, fewer manual steps and new forms of infrastructure control.

Tokenization is moving faster than expected, according to MoonPay president Keith Grossman. Banks and asset managers are testing tokenized funds and onchain settlement, signaling that what was once experimental is now becoming practical.

The lenders and other big players are among the firms pushing the shift, showing the trend is already under way.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView