Stablecoins gained traction in 2025 and are now being used to tokenize various assets like equities and gold on blockchain in 2026, with the market nearly quadrupling to $20 billion. Legal clarity and interoperability are needed to prevent market fragmentation, as tokenized assets are expected to reach $400 billion by next year.

Financial giants are deeply involved in tokenization, with the industry transitioning from experimentation to implementation. Tokenization is seen as a mainstream capital raising tool, especially in emerging markets, where blockchain-native capital raises can boost market inclusion, making total value locked in real-world asset tokens exceed $100 billion by the end of 2026.

Tokenized equities saw a surge in popularity, moving from synthetic assets to direct issuance with platforms like Robinhood and Kraken offering token versions of popular stocks. Tokenized ETFs are expected to gain traction, offering exposure to U.S. markets, with a push towards bringing real-world assets as collateral to DeFi.

Infrastructure is key for tokenization, spanning multiple chains to avoid fragmentation and enable seamless movement of assets and data. Gold is emerging as a popular asset class for tokenization in 2026, with tokenized gold expected to become the collateral layer for onchain finance, similar to stablecoins becoming the settlement layer.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: How tokenized assets could become a $400 billion market in 2026