Fidelity Says Institutions Are Moving Toward a Tokenized Onchain Future: 'No Going Back'
Key Takeaways
- •Fidelity's Matthew Horne said the institutional drive toward an onchain future has accelerated over the past 18 months and has become irreversible, with US asset managers incentivized by improved investor access and entry into new markets.
- •Demand for tokenized real world assets increased 41% over the past 30 days as the number of holding addresses exceeded 493,000, excluding stablecoins, according to RWA.xyz.
- •UBS's Ka Yan Chan said treasuries and equities could bring billions of dollars onchain, but scaling to trillions depends on infrastructure players such as the Fed or DTCC transforming the custody layer to a tokenized platform.
- •The SEC issued a 'no action' letter to a DTCC subsidiary in December 2025 enabling a securities tokenization service and approved a temporary exemption in September permitting limited onchain trading of tokenized US stocks.
- •More than $1.2 billion in capital moved onchain in the past 30 days, raising combined stablecoin and tokenized asset value above $323 billion, while Standard Chartered projects tokenized real world assets could reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028.
Financial institutions are steadily advancing toward an onchain future, with token initiatives opening access to new markets and delivering structural advantages over traditional investment products, according to Matthew Horne, head of digital asset strategists at Fidelity Investments, one of the world’s largest asset managers. Tokenization — the issuance of blockchain-based tokens that represent traditional assets such as funds, treasuries, or stocks — sits at the center of that shift.
“In the last 18 months, if you look at the push by true institutions to move toward an onchain future, it’s really no going back,” Horne said during a panel discussion at Longitude Singapore on Thursday.
He added that US asset managers are particularly incentivized to move assets onchain, as tokenization provides better investor access and helps them “reach new markets.” Horne appeared on the panel alongside WSJ’s Jihye Lee, UBS’ Ka Yan Chan, Securitize’s Chongwu Du, and Maple’s Sidney Powell.
Demand for tokenized assets rose 41% during the past 30 days as the number of holders topped 493,000, according to RWA.xyz. The figure measures the total number of addresses holding tokenized real world assets, excluding stablecoins.
Treasuries and Equities May Bring Billions Onchain: UBS
Treasuries and equities may bring billions of dollars onchain as the staples of portfolio construction, said Ka Yan Chan, head of digital assets business development at UBS.
“What would really drive the billions to the trillions is when market infrastructure players like the Fed or DTCC make the first move in transforming the custody layer to a tokenized platform,” Chan said. Industry players could “piggyback” on these initiatives by building the distribution layer for tokenized assets, she added.
Her remarks follow a series of US regulatory milestones. In December 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a “no action” letter — a signal that the agency does not intend to recommend enforcement for the activity described — to a subsidiary of the Depository Trust anding Corporation (DTCC), which clears and settles the vast majority of US securities transactions, enabling it to offer a new securities market tokenization service. In September, the SEC approved a temporary exemption allowing limited trading of tokenized US stocks on certain onchain venues.
Earlier on Thursday, Securitize, a tokenization platform, announced the launch of trading of tokenized shares of a dozen of the most widely held US traded stocks, which will include security entitlements.
Related: US financial markets ‘poised to move on-chain’ amid DTCC tokenization greenlight
Over $1.2 Billion Moves Onchain in 30 Days
More than $1.2 billion in capital has moved onchain during the past 30 days, lifting the combined total across stablecoins and tokenized assets to more than $323 billion, according to OnchainBenchmark. Stablecoins are blockchain tokens pegged to fiat currencies such as the US dollar.
Tokenized real world assets may reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital asset research, Geoff Kendrick, predicted in August. Whether the SEC’s temporary exemption is extended and whether infrastructure players make the custody-layer move Chan described are among the near-term variables that could shape that trajectory.
Magazine: How Hong Kong is turning tokenized bonds into real market infrastructure
Source: Cointelegraph
