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Standard Chartered projects $4 trillion in tokenized assets by end-2028, split evenly between stablecoins and real-world assets, according to Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank's global Head of Digital Assets Research.
Why it matters
The forecast frames tokenization as a $4T convergence point between two markets that have historically been tracked separately: the dollar-denominated stablecoin float and the institutional RWA pipeline of money-market funds, treasuries, and private credit on public chains. Kendrick's read is that established DeFi protocols with strong risk metrics — not the issuers — capture the bulk of the upside, because fee flow and liquidity concentration accrue to the venues where the assets trade.
Market impact
Kendrick points to passage of the Clarity Act as the key near-term catalyst for the leg higher, since it would resolve the SEC–CFTC jurisdictional split that has kept major institutional issuers cautious. For DeFi protocols, the read is asymmetric: a settled US regulatory framework converts tokenized assets from a retail-led thesis into an institutional-allocable asset class, and the order-routing, liquidity, and risk-management layer is where DeFi already has product-market fit.
Frequently asked questions
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What is Standard Chartered's tokenization forecast?
Standard Chartered projects $4 trillion in tokenized assets by end-2028, split evenly between stablecoins and real-world assets, according to Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank's global Head of Digital Assets Research.
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Who does Standard Chartered see as the primary beneficiary?
Kendrick says established DeFi protocols with strong risk metrics — not the issuers of the tokenized assets — are positioned to capture the bulk of the upside, because fee flow and liquidity concentrate in the venues where the assets trade.
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Why is the Clarity Act the key catalyst?
Kendrick flags the Clarity Act as the key near-term catalyst because it would resolve the SEC–CFTC jurisdictional split that has kept major institutional issuers cautious about tokenizing assets on public chains.
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How does the forecast split between stablecoins and RWAs?
The $4T projection is split roughly evenly — about $2T in stablecoins and about $2T in real-world assets — reflecting both the continued growth of the dollar-denominated stablecoin float and institutional RWA pipelines like tokenized money-market funds and treasuries.
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What changes for DeFi if US regulation clears?
A settled US framework would convert tokenized assets from a retail-led thesis into an institutionally allocable asset class, legitimizing the on-chain venues where they route — order flow, liquidity provision, and risk management become the durable revenue layer for DeFi protocols.
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