Tokenization of stocks and bonds presents a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity that could reshape crypto markets over the coming decade, Bitwise’s Matt Hougan says.
Summary
- Tokenization is advancing fast, with Robinhood, Kraken, and Coinbase launching platforms and institutions backing blockchain networks.
- The market size is huge — tokenizing stocks and bonds could unlock a $257T opportunity.
- Crypto impact is near, with 1–5% of assets possibly going on-chain in the next few years.
- Investment options include layer 1 tokens (ETH, SOL, LINK) and stocks like Coinbase or Robinhood.
Tokenization is heating up, and Bitwise’s chief investment officer Matt Hougan says it might start moving crypto prices sooner than most expect. The idea of moving traditional assets like stocks and bonds onto blockchains has been around for a while, but Hougan says the industry is now seeing real signs of progress.
In a recent research note, Hougan pointed to developments like Robinhood and Kraken launching tokenized stock platforms: Robinhood on Ethereum‘s Arbitrum and Kraken on Solana. These offerings are currently limited to users outside the U.S., but Coinbase has already signaled it’s aiming to bring similar functionality stateside, calling tokenization a “huge priority” in a recent SEC filing.
Traditional finance is also paying close attention. For instance, institutions poured $135 million into a new blockchain called the Canton Network, designed specifically for trading stocks and bonds.
Even the SEC seems open to the shift. Commissioner Paul Atkins described tokenization as an “innovation” and said the agency “should be focused on how we advance tokenization in the marketplace,” adding that the era of regulation by enforcement “are over.”
Hougan admitted to having mixed feelings about tokenization but called it inevitable. He described it as “ridiculous” that stocks only trade during certain hours on weekdays, comparing it to email shutting down every weekend.
“The fact that stocks only trade from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays is absurd. Imagine if your email shut down at 4:00 each Friday and didn’t turn back on until Monday at 9:30. And don’t even get me started on how painfully slow settlement is.”
Matt Hougan
Still, Hougan notes he used to think tokenization was too early. Market structure tends to change slowly. He pointed to how long it took to shift from trading on physical floors to electronic systems. But with so many developments happening now, Hougan is starting to rethink his timeline.
Chasing 4,000x opportunity
The biggest reason tokenization could start affecting crypto prices soon, he says, is the size of the market. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock — the world’s largest asset manager — recently noted that “every stock, every bond, every fund — every asset — can be tokenized.”
Hougan broke it down: stocks are worth about $117 trillion, and bonds are worth around $140 trillion. That’s a $257 trillion opportunity, and it doesn’t even include real estate or private assets, he says.
By comparison, Hougan pointed to growing interest in stablecoins, with some projections suggesting the market could expand from $250 billion to $2 trillion by 2030. But $2 trillion would still account for less than 1% of the potential scale of tokenization.
The Bitwise CIO says it will likely take more than 10 years before most stock and bond trading shifts on-chain. Still, with major firms like Robinhood and Tradeweb already positioning for the transition, he said tokenization could reach 1-5% of the market within a few years, a shift that could represent trillions of dollars, more than any other crypto application, including Bitcoin.
For investors, Hougan says the most direct way to invest in tokenization is to buy a mix of layer 1 blockchains and infrastructure tokens: Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), Chainlink (LINK), and so on. While some people may want to focus heavily on Ethereum, which is currently leading the trend, Hougan warned against concentrating too much:
“Many different players are getting bites at the apple. It would be unfortunate to call the tokenization trend early only to bet on the wrong horse.”
Matt Hougan
Another option is to buy stocks that might benefit from the shift: companies like Robinhood, Coinbase, and Circle. If Larry Fink is right, Hougan writes, then the tokenization market could grow over 4,000 times from where it is today, adding that there “aren’t many markets that can say that.”
