ARK Invest projects that the real asset tokenization market will grow from approximately $19 billion to $11 trillion by 2030.
This outlook, announced by Cathie Wood's investment firm, is included in the annual report released this week titled Big Ideas 2026.
The estimate of $11 trillion implies an increase of about 58,000% compared to the current level. ARK cites regulatory clarity and the development of institutional infrastructure as key factors driving tokenization adoption across various asset classes.
Tokenization refers to the process of converting traditional assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate into digital representations on a public blockchain. Wood specifically identified public offerings, sovereign debt (such as government bonds), and bank deposits as key target areas for blockchain migration.
Current market growth trends
According to ARK Research, tokenized assets are projected to grow 208% by 2025, reaching a size of $18.9 billion.
BlackRock's BUIDL fund manages approximately $1.7 billion in assets, accounting for about 20% of the tokenized U.S. Treasury market.
The current market size of $19 billion represents only about 1.38% of global financial assets. Even if it reaches $11 trillion by 2030, tokenized assets will still represent a small proportion across the entire traditional financial infrastructure.
Major exchanges and financial institutions are already pursuing blockchain-based projects. The New York Stock Exchange has announced plans for a blockchain trading platform that supports the trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs.
Read more: SEC-CFTC Reschedule Joint Crypto Event As Harmonization Push Continues
Reasons financial institutions are moving on-chain
ARK claims that tokenization reduces payment processing times and lowers transaction costs compared to traditional payment systems that take days.
Blockchain-based payments can replace manual reconciliation and settlement processes with cryptographic verification, enabling asset transfers to be processed almost in real-time.
Wood emphasized that such technology will lead to significant disruptions in the financial sector through a comprehensive transition to new infrastructure. According to ARK's data, DeFi platforms generated $3.8 billion in revenue over the course of 2025.
State Street has launched a digital asset platform supporting tokenized products, while BlackRock is also developing its own tokenization technology. This commercial implementation follows years of pilot projects that failed to achieve commercial scale.
Market outlook and adoption barriers
ARK reports that the total cryptocurrency market size could reach $28 trillion by 2030, with Bitcoin (BTC) expected to account for about 70%, or $16 trillion. The firm believes the growth of the tokenized market heavily relies on regulatory frameworks and institutional-grade custody solutions.
Currently, tokenization activities are focused on stablecoins, which exceed a global supply of $300 billion. The adoption of tokenized stocks, bonds, and deposits remains limited outside of pilot programs.
Industry analysts point out that regulatory uncertainty remains a key factor limiting institutional participation. Sudhakar Lakshmanarayan of Digital South Trust stated that the future of cryptocurrency will be more influenced by regulation than innovation, especially in terms of compliance and custody rules.
ARK invested approximately $10 million in the tokenization platform Securitize, which processes over $4 billion in tokenized securities. This investment, executed through the ARK Venture Fund in October 2025, accounted for 3.25% of the fund's assets.
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