- Banks are ploughing into tokenised real-world assets.
- Standard Chartered says to expect non-stablecoin assets to be worth $2 trillion.
- Ethereum and DeFi protocols like Aave are seen as big winners.
- Next year’s US midterms risk scuppering the rally.
DeFi is set for a $2 trillion boom.
That’s according to Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets research at UK bank Standard Chartered, who expects Wall Street’s surging adoption of blockchain technology will drive the tokenised real-world asset market to increase by over 5,600% by 2028.
That number is excluding the stablecoin market, which has ballooned to be worth just under $308 billion in 2025, fuelled by a friendlier US government.
“Stablecoins are creating a platform for DeFi to continue its expansion in the coming years,” Kendrick wrote. “Their success in 2025 has raised awareness in developed markets and created the necessary liquidity onchain to enable other DeFi solutions.”
He predicted that tokenised money-market funds powered by stablecoins will make up $750 billion of the $2 trillion market. The rest of the market will be made up of $750 billion in tokenised equities, and $250 billion in tokenised funds, Kendrick said.
“The less liquid segments of private equity, commodities, corporate debt and real estate for the other $250 billion,” he added.
The comments highlight the bullishness around tokenised assets from traditional finance. BlackRock, State Street and Deutsche Bank are just some of the financial giants muscling into this space.
Winners
Kendrick said the DeFi boom is driven by three factors: surging awareness in developed markets, onchain liquidity, and the expansion of onchain lending.
Ethereum has and “key DeFi protocols like Aave are going to be the winners,” Kendrick said.
Indeed, Aave, DeFi’s largest lending platform, recently relaunched its institutional platform to capitalise on Wall Street’s growing interest.
Earlier this week, the Ethereum Foundation rolled out a new institutional platform titled Ethereum for Institutions, a site designed to guide traditional financial institutions in integrating Ethereum’s blockchain infrastructure.
“Clear pathways are essential as institutions build on Ethereum,” the foundation said in its announcement.
‘The main risk’
The US government’s drive to regulate the crypto market and to police the industry less strictly than during the Biden years has fuelled the rally. It has seen pro-crypto people be appointed to key government roles, seen a landmark stablecoin bill be signed into law, and Congress seems to be on the cusp of finalising a broad markets bill.
To be sure, Kendrick warns that next year presents a massive danger that risks puncturing the growth.
“The main risk to this would be if regulatory clarity in the US does not materialise — a possibility if the US administration is unable to push through regulatory changes before the November 2026 midterm elections, but not our base case,” he said.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is down 0.3% over the past 24 hours to trade at $109,906.
- Ethereum is down 1.5% over the past 24 hours, trading at $3,841.
What we’re reading
- Why crypto’s red-hot IPO rally risks grinding to a halt — DL News
- ‘Code Is Law’ documentary nails the drama of DeFi hacks — despite what it leaves out — DL News
- Ondo Brings 100 Tokenized Stocks to BNB Chain Platform — Unchained
- Ethereum Is Becoming Wall Street’s Favorite & Lido’s the Gateway w/ Izzy & Kean — Milk Road
- Ethereum Foundation rolls out new institution-focused site amid Wall Street’s crypto push — DL News
Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email atlance@dlnews.com.
