Wall Street's migration onto blockchain technology could open a vast new market for the crypto industry, but investors looking to bet on tokenization may find better opportunities than bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), according to the well-followed research firm Citrini Research.

In a 79-page report titled "Breaking the Wall," published Thursday, the firm argued that bringing stocks, bonds and other financial assets onto blockchains could create new businesses in trading, lending and payments. Rather than the two largest cryptocurrencies, the biggest beneficiaries of that shift may be the companies and crypto projects that collect fees from the resulting trading, lending and payment activity, the report said. Bitcoin last traded at $82,486.39 and ether at $2,492.29.

"We can't assume that majors, primarily BTC and ETH, will make new ATHs on this," the report said, referring to all-time highs. "Even if they do, there are better expressions."

The firm's stock picks include Securitize, Coinbase, Robinhood, Circle, Figure, SoFi and Bullish, while its token basket spans Aerodrome, Maple, Ondo, Pendle and Derive, among others.

Why tokenization matters

Tokenization turns traditional assets into digital tokens that can move between financial platforms and potentially trade around the clock, rather than sitting inside a single brokerage or bank account. A tokenized stock, for example, could serve as collateral for a loan drawn directly from an investor's digital wallet, without going through a traditional brokerage.

That flexibility, the research argued, opens new markets for trading platforms, lenders, stablecoin issuers — companies that issue tokens designed to hold a steady value, typically pegged to the U.S. dollar — and the firms that handle records of securities ownership. The report concluded that the biggest winners are likely to be the businesses and protocols positioned to take a cut of that activity in fees. In other words, the report frames the buildout itself — the trading, lending, payments and record-keeping around tokenized assets — as the revenue opportunity, rather than price appreciation in the largest coins alone.

Citrini is best known for its research on technology and markets, including artificial intelligence, and for running the most-followed newsletter on Substack, with more than 263,000 followers. The firm's research on AI went viral earlier this year, sparking widespread fear and contributing to a brief market meltdown.

Two baskets: one for stocks, one for tokens

To identify opportunities, Citrini constructed two investment baskets — one focused on publicly traded stocks, the other on crypto tokens. The report was particularly interested in businesses that stand to earn fees as more of Wall Street moves onchain, from the infrastructure that issues and records tokenized securities to the venues where they trade.

"If we're right that stocks, commodities and other financial assets are moving onchain, then eventually all of the financial products built around those assets should follow them," the report said.

The stock basket

Citrini's equity picks center on companies that either operate tokenization infrastructure today or stand to see greater demand for their trading and payment services as assets migrate onchain.

• Securitize (SECZ) — the tokenization firm maintains the legal link between blockchain tokens and the securities they represent.
• Coinbase (COIN, $179.41) and Robinhood (HOOD, $109.04) — the crypto exchange and digital brokerage offer exposure through their trading platforms and blockchain infrastructure.
• Circle (CRCL, $84.52) — the stablecoin issuer could benefit from greater demand for its USDC token to settle transactions, the report said.
• Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR) — highlighted for tokenized lending.
• SoFi (SOFI, $15.81) — cited for stablecoin payments.
• Bullish (BLSH, $32.60) — the institutionally focused digital asset exchange operator, CoinDesk's parent company, is acquiring share registrar Equiniti, which maintains the official records of a company's shareholders.

The crypto token basket

Citrini said it was "actually more excited" about its separate crypto-token basket, which it said offers broader exposure than the limited universe of listed companies.

• Aerodrome (AERO) — a trading platform that could collect fees from tokenized stock transactions.
• Maple (SYRUP, $0.2336) — manages blockchain-based lending products for institutional investors.
• Pendle (PENDLE) — allows investors to trade the future income from interest-bearing assets.
• Ondo Finance (ONDO, $0.4892) — providesized U.S. Treasury and stock products and, more recently, perpetual futures.
• Aave (AAVE, $167.92) — offers lending infrastructure.
• Uniswap (UNI) — provides a decentralized marketplace for trading.
• Ethena (ENA) — issues stablecoins and recently expanded into digital finance, combining high-yield savings, cards and payments.
• ether.fi (ETHFI) — offers crypto-based financial services.
• Chainlink (LINK, $12.96) — provides market data.
• LayerZero (ZRO, $2.0116) — connects blockchains.

All three of ether.fi, Chainlink and LayerZero could benefit as tokenized assets spread across financial platforms and blockchain networks, the report said.

The basket also included Derive (DRV, $0.4581), a decentralized options trading protocol — options are contracts that give holders the right to buy or sell an asset at a set price — that could benefit if tokenized stocks and other financial assets bring more derivatives trading onto blockchains, as well as up-and-coming perpetual futures venues Lighter (LIT) and Variational (VAR).

Perpetual futures, or perps, are contracts that let traders bet on an asset's price rising or falling without owning it; unlike traditional futures, they have no expiration date. Hyperliquid (HYPE) has emerged as a dominant blockchain-based platform for perps trading, and Citrini said the two challenger venues may gain traction alongside Hyperliquid as the broader perps market grows. The stock basket also included exposure to Hyperliquid via the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP), an exchange-traded fund that gives stock-market investors exposure to the token without directly holding it.

The caveats

The report cautioned that growing trading volumes and network activity do not always translate into higher token prices. Investors, it argued, need to examine how protocols make money, who collects the fees and whether token holders get a share of that revenue.

The report also flagged liquidity spread across competing blockchains, security risks that could slow adoption, and the legal hurdles facing synthetic tokenized stocks, which offer exposure to share prices without granting investors the voting rights or direct ownership that come with traditional shares.

Source: CoinDesk