Crypto for Advisors: It’s time for tokenization to get to work

The CoinDesk newsletter "Crypto for Advisors," dated July 23, 2026, highlights a significant shift in the tokenization narrative at TokenizeThis 2026. The discussion among industry leaders turned from debating the possibility of tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) to focusing on actual implementation and utility. Tokenized RWAs have exceeded $30 billion, approximately six times their value at the beginning of 2025. A survey cited by RedStone’s founders, based on research by EY and Coinbase Institutional, shows that 64% of asset managers now want to engage in tokenization, up from 40% the previous year, signaling broad institutional interest.

Regulatory developments are a key reason for the positive mood change compared to the previous year. The GENIUS Act validated payment stablecoins, but the industry is looking forward to the CLARITY Act, still under Senate consideration, as a much larger catalyst. RedStone’s co-founder Marcin Kazmierczak described the CLARITY Act as potentially increasing tokenization utility by 10 to 100 times, as it would enable a wider array of asset classes to be tokenized legally. Current traction is mostly seen in tokenized collateral markets, particularly repo trading, with Broadridge handling about $370 billion in tokenized repo daily on the Canton network, a meaningful although small portion of the $12 trillion U.S. repo market.

Panelists stressed that tokenized products must offer real advantages over legacy counterparts. Examples include Apollo’s tokenized private credit fund, which provides benefits like increased secondary liquidity and allowing private credit to serve as collateral in DeFi protocols such as Aave and Morpho. Treasury functions are also beginning to adopt tokenization, with WisdomTree and Citi describing practical use cases where tokenized money market funds and deposits enable efficient, yield-generating payments and clearing. However, significant challenges remain, especially around distribution, compliance, interoperability, and integrating blockchain solutions into traditional portfolio risk frameworks. The EY and Coinbase survey identified almost half of asset managers see blockchain integration into existing frameworks as a primary readiness gap.

In an "Ask an Expert" segment, CoinDesk Research’s Joshua de Vos discussed tokenized equity trading, which hit a record $3.86 billion in June 2026, propelled largely by secondary trading of tokenized SpaceX shares. However, he emphasized that most volumes are synthetic wrappers rather than direct ownership tokens, and the on-chain market cap of tokenized equities is only about $1.53 billion compared to $1.5 trillion in traditional volumes year-to-date. He also noted important distinctions in tokenized equity products regarding rights attached to tokens, with issuer-backed tokens conferring ownership and voting rights, unlike synthetic versions that carry counterparty risk. Regulatory frameworks have advanced with SEC no-action letters and Nasdaq approvals, but uncertainties about access and legal clarity remain.

Overall, the conference conveyed an industry moving beyond hype toward pragmatic progress, aware of both the promise and the hurdles of tokenization. The next phase will focus on building the often less glamorous infrastructure needed to deliver on tokenization’s potential at scale.