From AI to Tokenization: The Next Megatrend Investors Shouldn’t Ignore
For nearly three years now, Wall Street has had an almost singular focus: AI, all the time. The few other things that occasionally capture investors’ attention have been inflation and commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Now, obviously, the AI trade can’t remain the only profitable game in town forever. As such, this narrow focus has left many asking, what’s next?
We think we have an answer.
Beneath the surface – hiding in the shadows cast by today’s AI Boom – is another burgeoning megatrend; one with the potential to reshape finance itself.
It’s called tokenization. And we think it’s about to become the next trillion-dollar investment opportunity…
What Tokenization Is and Why It Matters Now
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 settles in two days through a custodian and clearinghouse, you could hold a digital token that represents the bond directly, settle instantly, and trade it 24/7 with global liquidity and no fees.
Tokenization eliminates intermediaries, hastens settlement, reduces costs, and increases transparency. And it’s no longer just theoretical. The world’s largest financial institutions are building around it right now.
- 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, Onyx, which has processed billions in tokenized repurchase transactions.
- Goldman Sachs (GS) and HSBC (HSBC) are piloting tokenized bond offerings.
- Citi (C) has been experimenting with tokenized deposits and cross-border settlement.
With these moves, Wall Street is building the future ‘plumbing’ of finance. And the benefits are obvious:
- Efficiency: Instant settlement and fewer middlemen.
- Liquidity: Fractional ownership makes illiquid assets like real estate tradable.
- Access: Global investors can tap into U.S. assets, and vice versa, without friction.
But the real reason Wall Street is interested? Money. Tokenization could capture trillions of dollars in annual flows. 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…
How to Play the $16 Trillion Opportunity Behind Real-World Asset Tokenization
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, the GENIUS Act gave stablecoins long-awaited regulatory clarity in the U.S.: a green light for institutions to start using them at scale. In our view, the winners here are clear: USD Coin (USDC-USD), Tether USDt (USDT-USD), 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.
And just as Wall Street builds the pipes, Washington is clearing the legal roadblocks – creating the regulatory certainty needed for trillions to flow on-chain.
Regulatory Tailwinds: How GENIUS and CLARITY Unlock Growth
At the same time financial giants are laying the rails for tokenized markets, lawmakers are building the legal framework.
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.
Once passed, platforms issuing tokenized equities will finally know which rules apply, who regulates them, and how to comply.
That regulatory clarity is profoundly bullish. Ethereum’s market cap is ~$400 billion, Chainlink’s is ~$10 billion, and stablecoins together sit at ~$150 billion. Compare that with the $25 trillion equity base that could migrate on-chain, or the $31 trillion in annual equity settlement flows that could eventually ride stablecoins. Even capturing 0.1% of that flow would cover Ethereum’s annual security budget.
So, don’t benchmark crypto to meme tokens or NFT volumes. Benchmark it to the plumbing of global capital markets – because that’s where we’re headed.
Tokenization 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.
The tokenization wave is coming. Spot the builders early, and you could ride one of the most powerful investment themes of the next decade.
Yet, the regulatory clarity driving tokenization is part of a bigger story: Washington is unleashing policies designed to fuel growth across the economy.
And that matters for every investor. Because while trillions may flow into tokenized markets, trillions more are about to be unleashed via bold fiscal moves…
President Trump has promised a “boom like the world has never seen.” And Louis Navellier believes that come Sept. 30, we’ll see it begin with a $7 trillion flood of capital into a handful of select stocks.
He’s already identified five names positioned to soar as institutional money pours in – and he’s sharing one free recommendation he believes could double within a week.
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