Editor’s note: “The $16 Trillion Tokenization Era Has Begun” was previously published in September 2025 with the title, “From AI to Tokenization: The Next Megatrend Investors Shouldn’t Ignore“. It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.

For nearly three years now, Wall Street has had an almost singular focus: AI, all the time. Trillions in capital have chased the AI boom, minting new tech giants and reshaping entire industries.

But every era of explosive growth eventually gives way to the next – and the smartest investors are already positioning themselves for what comes after AI.

That “next big thing” is already taking shape in the background. It’s more foundational than any single technology trend; it’s poised to transform how money, markets, and assets themselves function.

It’s called tokenization – and thanks to a new federal initiative we’re calling “Project Yorktown,” it’s about to go mainstream.

We expect this is the next structural shift in finance: one that could unleash trillions in value and redefine how the global economy operates.

Here’s why…

Tokenization Explained: The $16 Trillion Shift Reshaping Global Finance

Tokenization is the process of creating digital representations, or “tokens,” on a blockchain to represent ownership of a real-world asset (RWA) – like stocks, bonds, real estate, or currencies. 

This turns these assets into digital units that can be divided, traded, and managed more easily and efficiently. For example, instead of buying a bond that takes two days to settle through layers of intermediaries, a tokenized bond can be exchanged instantly, traded 24/7 with global liquidity, and managed directly from a digital wallet 

Tokenization eliminates intermediaries, hastens settlement, reduces costs, and increases transparency. And it’s not just theoretical. The world’s largest financial institutions are already building around it.

• BlackRock (BLK) has launched a tokenized Treasury fund on Ethereum (ETH/USD). The fact that the world’s largest asset manager is leading the charge should not be ignored.
• JPMorgan Chase (JPM) runs its own blockchain unit, Kinexys, which has processed over $1.5 trillion in transactions since its inception (then Onyx), with an average $2 billion in daily transaction volume.
• Goldman Sachs (GS) and HSBC (HSBC) are piloting tokenized bond offerings.
• Citi (C) has been experimenting with tokenized deposits and cross-border settlement.

And just as Wall Street builds this future ‘plumbing’ of finance, Washington is clearing the legal roadblocks – creating the regulatory certainty needed for trillions to flow on-chain…

How New U.S. Stablecoin Laws Are Accelerating the Tokenization Era

If 2020-21 was the era of decentralized finance (DeFi) and 2023-24 was the era of Bitcoin ETFs, then 2025-26 could be the era of stablecoins.

Why? Because we’re at an inflection point. After years of federal skepticism, the U.S. government is now embracing the crypto economy. Three new policies lay out the legal framework, clearing regulatory hurdles and accelerating on-chain adoption.

The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins), signed in July 2025, requires 1:1 reserves, exempts compliant stablecoins from securities laws, and introduces freeze/seize provisions. October 17, 2025 is the deadline for a U.S. Treasury Request for Comment (RFC) regarding innovative anti-money-laundering detection methods – meaning things are moving fast here.

The CLARITY Act (Digital Asset Market Clarity), passed by the House in July 2025, goes further – defining digital commodities, investment contract assets, and stablecoins while clarifying United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) vs. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction. Senate passage looks likely by late 2025 or early 2026.

And the icing on the cake? What we’re calling Trump’s “Project Yorktown”: a federal framework that adopts stablecoins as part of the financial system. And it goes into effect very soon: on Oct. 21, 2025.

Soon, platforms issuing tokenized equities will finally know which rules apply, who regulates them, and how to comply.

That clarity is profoundly bullish. Stablecoins already account for ~$160 billion in circulating supply, dominated by Tether (USDT/USD) and Circle’s USD Coin (USDC/USD). They serve as the “oil” of crypto markets – greasing trading pairs, DeFi protocols, and cross-border payments. But that’s just the starting point. This potential market is orders of magnitude larger once tokenization and payments enter the picture.

In fact, Bloomberg Intelligence estimates tokenized assets could reach $16 trillion by the end of the decade.

When trillions move, fees do, too. That means new revenue streams for asset managers, banks, exchanges, and fintech platforms…

Where the Smart Money Is Going in the Tokenization Boom

Of course, if trillions of dollars do migrate on-chain, the obvious question is: who benefits? Let’s map it out.

Stablecoins

First up are stablecoins. They’re the settlement currency for tokenized markets, meaning every trade in tokenized stocks, bonds, or real estate needs a digital dollar to close. 

Recently, long-awaited regulatory clarity in the U.S. gives institutions the green light to start using them at scale. In our view, the winners here are clear: USD Coin, Tether USDT, and PayPal USD (PYUSD/USD). Among them, we think USDC is best positioned for the U.S. market due to its closer alignment with regulators.

Smart Contract Platforms

Then you have the smart contract platforms – the blockchains where tokenized assets will actually live. Ethereum is the clear front-runner: it has the most liquidity, the strongest institutional traction, and has essentially become the default for serious players. But challengers like Solana (SOL/USD), Avalanche (AVAX/USD), Polkadot (DOT/USD), and Cosmos (ATOM/USD) are also carving out niches. 

Solana offers fast and cheap transactions, making it appealing to retail-friendly platforms like Robinhood (HOOD). Avalanche is creating custom “subnets” designed for regulated financial use cases. And Polkadot and Cosmos are focused on interoperability, which could be critical for bridging tokenized ecosystems together.

Tokenization Protocols

Next are the tokenization protocols: the middleware that makes sure new digital assets are compliant, transparent, and secure. This includes companies like: 

• Chainlink (LINK/USD), which provides oracle services, pricing data, and proof-of-reserve audits
• Stellar (XLM/USD), which already has partnerships in stablecoins and tokenized asset projects
• Ondo (ONDO/USD), a fast-growing player in tokenized Treasuries and bonds
• Polymath (POLY/USD), an early name in security token standards 

These firms are the “connective tissue” that allows Wall Street assets to safely live on-chain.

Decentralized Finance Platforms

Of course, once assets are tokenized, they need places to trade, borrow, buy, and sell. That’s where DeFi platforms come in. 

Imagine a world where tokenized stocks can be borrowed against like margin collateral, swapped instantly like currencies, or deposited into lending pools for yield. Projects like Aave (AAVE/USD), Compound (COMP/USD), Uniswap (UNI/USD), Maker (MKR/USD), and dYdX (DYDX/USD) already power much of crypto’s decentralized finance. When tokenized equities and bonds join the mix, their potential addressable market should grow exponentially.

Custodians

Compliance and custody will also matter immensely in this space. Large institutions won’t settle for fully open, permissionless chains. They’ll want permissioned blockchains with built-in identity checks and anti-money-laundering safeguards. Here, platforms like Polygon (MATIC/USD), Algorand (ALGO/USD), and Hedera (HBAR/USD) have positioned themselves with strong enterprise partnerships. If banks and asset managers tokenize assets, expect these chains to play a key role.

Verifiers

Finally, there’s digital identity. Not every investor can legally buy private equity or venture capital tokens, which means systems will be needed to whitelist accredited investors and verify compliance. This is where decentralized identity projects like Civic (CVC/USD) and Worldcoin (WLD/USD) enter the picture. If tokenized private markets really scale, identity tokens could become just as essential as stablecoins in enabling access.

Put it all together, and you can see the full map: stablecoins as the settlement layer, blockchains as the backbone, tokenization protocols as the middleware, DeFi as the marketplace, enterprise chains as the compliance guardrails, and identity tokens as the access keys. 

Put together, here’s the stack: stablecoins as the settlement layer, blockchains as the backbone, tokenization protocols as middleware, DeFi as the marketplace, enterprise chains as the compliance guardrails, and identity tokens as the access keys.

That’s the emerging architecture of the tokenization economy.

Why Tokenization – Not AI – Could Define the Next Decade of Investing

Crypto spent the past decade growing from experiment to a $2 trillion asset class. The next decade will be defined by tokenization, where the rest of finance joins the blockchain era.

For stock investors, that means opportunity not just in tokens but in publicly traded firms leading the buildout. BlackRock, JPMorgan, Coinbase (COIN), Nasdaq, and PayPal (PYPL) are no longer just financial names; they’re early architects of a system poised to handle tens of trillions.

And with “Project Yorktown” set to officially integrate stablecoins into the U.S. financial system on Oct. 21, 2025, the pace of adoption is about to accelerate dramatically.

Those who position themselves before that cash migration begins stand to capture the lion’s share of the upside.

That’s why we recently hosted our Project Yorktown Summit – a deep-dive into how this policy could ignite the next wave of crypto and real-world asset investing. In it, we break down the mechanics behind the coming tokenization boom and reveal the specific projects, protocols, and stocks best positioned to benefit.

If you’re serious about finding the next generational opportunity in finance, this is your chance to get ahead of it – before the new rules go live and the capital floodgates open.

Discover how to position yourself before Oct. 21 changes everything.