Standard Chartered Predicts Explosive Growth for Tokenized Real-World Assets—Stablecoins Just the Beginning

Forget stablecoins—the real crypto revolution is brewing in tokenized real-world assets. Standard Chartered's latest forecast paints a trillion-dollar future where everything from real estate to fine art lives on-chain.

Banks finally waking up to blockchain's potential? Now that's a plot twist.

The institutional floodgates are opening. Tokenization isn't just disrupting finance—it's rewriting the rulebook on asset ownership. Liquidity meets legacy in what might be Wall Street's first honest upgrade since the ticker tape.

Of course, this being traditional finance, expect at least three unnecessary middlemen to somehow insert themselves into the process.

Focus shifting beyond stablecoins

Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, explained that the industry’s heavy reliance on stablecoins has overshadowed other tokenization prospects that could transform illiquid and hard-to-access markets.

Kendrick wrote:

“Non-stablecoin RWA tokenization has lagged for a number of reasons — regulatory uncertainty and focus on wrong areas being amongst them. However, as regulatory clarity emerges and if tokenizers focus on the right areas, then growth will come.”

The report singled out tokenized private credit as a notable early success, citing it as proof that blockchain can unlock real value by improving liquidity for assets traditionally considered difficult to trade.

It argued that the same logic can extend to private equity and niche commodities markets, where institutional investors are actively seeking better efficiency and transparency.

Regulatory patchwork persists

Despite the optimism, Standard Chartered cautioned that regulatory fragmentation remains an obstacle. Jurisdictions such as Singapore, Switzerland, the EU, and Jersey have developed clearer rules for RWAs, but others lag, while know-your-customer (KYC) checks continue to complicate cross-border adoption.

The bank’s research called for tokenization strategies that emphasize “areas of differentiation from off-chain assets” rather than replicating what already works well in traditional markets. By doing so, platforms and issuers could gain traction even in uncertain regulatory environments.

The report highlighted that tokenized private credit, structured debt, and corporate bonds have begun to expand steadily, with projections showing an accelerated climb starting from 2025.

It further suggested that if industry players leverage lessons from private credit and build robust compliance frameworks, non-stablecoin RWAs could emerge as the next major wave in the digital asset sector.