Standard Chartered: The market capitalization of tokenized RWA will surge 56 times to $2 trillion by 2028, with Ethereum as the absolute leader.

Standard Chartered Bank has released its latest forecast report, predicting that the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) market size will surge 56 times from the current $35 billion, reaching $2 trillion by the end of 2028. The bank believes that Ethereum will be the preferred blockchain for the vast majority of tokenized asset activities, as its reliability, with no mainnet interruptions for over 10 years, is crucial for institutions. In this $2 trillion market, tokenized money market funds and tokenized listed stocks will each account for $750 billion.

Explosive Growth: The Tokenization of the RWA Market Will Reach $2 Trillion in Five Years

The Digital Asset Research Head of Standard Chartered Bank, Geoffrey Kendrick, elaborated in the report on the enormous growth potential of the tokenization market, attributing it to the foundation laid by stablecoins.

• 56x Growth: Standard Chartered Bank predicts that the tokenization of real-world assets (excluding stablecoins) market will surge from the current approximately $35 billion to $2 trillion by the end of 2028, achieving an approximate 5,600% growth.
• Stablecoin Paving the Way: Kendrick believes that stablecoins have created awareness, liquidity, and lending capabilities on the Blockchain network, laying the foundation for large-scale tokenization of other asset classes.
• Growth Model: AlphaLadder Finance CEO Eddie Hui-Bon-Hoa compares the growth of tokenization to the adoption of stablecoins, believing it will follow the same growth model, allowing assets to be deployed instantly and used as collateral.

Ethereum Dominates Tokenization: Reliability is Key to Institutional Adoption

In the highly competitive field of Blockchain, Ethereum is regarded by Standard Chartered Bank as the undisputed leader of the tokenization wave due to its time-tested reliability.

• Ten years without interruption: Kendrick expects that most tokenization asset activities will occur on Ethereum, as this blockchain has been stably running for over 10 years without any mainnet outages.
• Reliability outweighs speed: He pointed out that the speed and cost advantages of other chains are not relevant factors for institutional adoption; reliability is what institutions value the most.
• Tokenization Process: Tokenization is the conversion of traditional assets into digital tokens on the blockchain, enabling transactions and settlements in the global market to be faster and more efficient.

Market Segmentation: Money market funds and listed stocks will be the main drivers

Standard Chartered's forecast segmented the $2 trillion market size and identified the asset classes with the most growth potential in the coming years.

• Money Market Funds: Tokenized Money Market Funds are expected to account for $750 billion.
• Listed Stocks: Tokenized listed stocks will also reach 750 billion dollars.
• Other Assets: Tokenized Funds will account for $250 billion; while private equity, commodities, corporate bonds and real estate will make up the remaining $250 billion.
• The Disruptive Potential of DeFi: Kendrick believes that decentralized finance can disrupt traditional finance through lending and real-world assets. Trading tokenized assets on decentralized exchanges could even challenge the status of traditional stock exchanges.

Regulatory Framework: The GENIUS Act Accelerates, But Risks Remain

Regulatory clarity is considered to be the main catalyst for the large-scale growth of tokenization, but it is also the biggest source of risk.

• GENIUS Act Promotion: The GENIUS Act passed by the United States in July 2025 establishes clear rules for stablecoins, accelerates the adoption of retail and institutional markets, and legalizes asset tokenization and decentralized trading.
• Future Regulatory Expectations: The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is expected to be passed by the end of 2025 or early 2026, which will further support the growth of tokenized assets.
• Major Risks: Kendrick pointed out that if regulatory clarity is not achieved before the midterm elections in November 2026, the growth of tokenization may slow down.

Conclusion

Standard Chartered Bank's $2 trillion tokenized RWA market forecast paints an extremely optimistic long-term growth picture for the entire crypto industry. This growth will primarily be driven by Ethereum's institutional-grade reliability, with the tokenization of money market funds and listed stocks becoming the core growth engines. With the implementation of regulations such as the GENIUS Act, tokenization is not just a technological trend but also an inevitable path for the integration of traditional finance and decentralized finance, heralding the arrival of a faster and more efficient global financial new era.