The World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, has placed the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) at the forefront of the cryptocurrency conversation for 2026. The event, running from January 19 to January 23, has seen a significant shift in focus from ideological debates about digital assets to practical discussions on infrastructure, scalability, and enterprise-grade deployment.
Total value locked (TVL) in tokenized RWAs has now exceeded $21 billion, reflecting both rising adoption and a broader mix of asset classes moving on-chain. High-level panels, including sessions titled "Is Tokenization the Future?" and "Where Are We on Stablecoins?", featured senior figures such as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, alongside officials from the European Central Bank and major financial institutions.
Panelists emphasized tokenization's ability to make traditionally illiquid assets—like equities, bonds, funds, and real estate—tradable on-chain, enabling fractional ownership, improving liquidity, and reducing cross-border settlement friction. Institutions including BlackRock, BNY Mellon, and Euroclear are now deploying tokenized products at scale, signaling a broader convergence between traditional finance (TradFi) and blockchain technology.
Regulatory clarity achieved in 2025, particularly in the US and parts of Europe, was repeatedly cited as the catalyst enabling this transition. The US GENIUS Act, which established federal standards for stablecoins including 100% reserve requirements, was highlighted as creating a regulated foundation for blockchain settlement in trade finance and beyond.
Long-term projections underscore the scale of the trend. McKinsey estimates the tokenized asset market could reach between $2 trillion and $4 trillion by 2030, while Boston Consulting Group has outlined a more aggressive scenario of up to $16 trillion.
Industry leaders showcased tangible progress. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed that the company is working with global banks to bridge tokenization and DeFi, noting that tokenized volume on the XRP Ledger surged from $19 trillion to $33 trillion in just one year. Infrastructure provider SWIFT stated that interoperable tokenized assets could significantly speed up global trade and unlock trapped liquidity.
Simultaneously, a related opinion piece by Billy Sebell, executive director at the XDC Foundation, argues that global trade finance represents the "largest real-world opportunity for blockchain." He highlights that trade finance is a $9.7-trillion market plagued by inefficiency, paper-based processes, and a $2.5-trillion financing gap that primarily affects small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Sebell posits that blockchain can digitize and secure trade documents, while tokenization can convert trade assets like receivables into digital assets, making them accessible to a global pool of investors. He points to recent legal frameworks, such as the UN’s Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) and the UK's 2023 Electronic Trade Documents Act, as creating the necessary policy tailwind for digital trade.
The data shows that more than 65% of tokenized assets, including fiat-backed stablecoins, are currently issued on Ethereum, cementing its central role. Furthermore, incumbent markets are embracing the shift, with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) exploring tokenized securities and 24/7 trading within existing regulatory frameworks.
Taken together, the developments at Davos and the analysis of trade finance indicate that tokenization is no longer a speculative concept but is becoming the primary mechanism through which blockchain technology integrates with and modernizes global capital markets.
