Research firm Citrini Research published a 79-page report titled Breaking the Wall, arguing that real-world assets could finally give blockchains a definitive role in finance. For years, the crypto industry built infrastructure for trading and lending while traditional financial assets like stocks, bonds, and credit remained in legacy systems. Now, those traditional assets are beginning to migrate onto blockchain rails.
The report highlights that tokenization can make financial assets behave more like software. Once onchain, assets can move between applications, serve as collateral, and be borrowed against without platforms needing to rebuild custody and settlement systems from scratch. Stablecoins, maturing decentralized finance protocols, retail distribution platforms like Robinhood and Coinbase, and evolving regulatory pathways are helping drive this shift.
While the trend is gaining traction, industry leaders note that simply moving a security to a digital ledger does not automatically create value. The central question for investors is which companies, networks, and protocols will capture the resulting revenue.
Market participants hold varying views on where the profits will settle:
- Infrastructure and Distribution: Christian Magoon, CEO of Amplify ETFs, suggests that infrastructure providers could act as toll booths, while customer-facing platforms maintain strong value through distribution.
- Post-Issuance Utility: Jeff Dorman, CIO of Arca, believes the tokenization process itself will become commoditized, with stickiness and revenue emerging after assets are onchain and utilized for trading, lending, or collateral. He points to potential beneficiaries ranging from Securitize to protocols like Aave, Hyperliquid, and Aerodrome.
- Host Networks: Zach Pandl, head of digital asset research at Grayscale, notes that owning the underlying networks processing transactions is a direct way to position a portfolio. He identifies Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana as current industry leaders, alongside institutionally focused networks like Avalanche and Canton.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, points to an even broader future involving artificial intelligence. He argues that autonomous AI agents running financial services will require programmable, always-on assets and instant settlement—features that align closely with existing crypto infrastructure. Meanwhile, industry executives emphasize that the market remains in its early stages, leaving ample room for future leaders to emerge as tokenization expands.
