Citi has released a new report, Tokenization 2030: Wall Street On-Chain, forecasting that the tokenized securities market could explode from $17 billion today to a base case of $5.5 trillion by 2030. The bank’s analysis, shared ahead of the Proof of Talk conference in Paris, outlines a range from a conservative $2.7 trillion to an optimistic $8.2 trillion, depending on adoption speed.
“You’re seeing the full weight of American financial power and the global reserve currency moving on-chain at scale,” the report states. “When DTCC and the NYSE embed tokenization into capital markets, this marks a tipping point.”
Three major shifts are driving this projection. First, traditional market infrastructures are building tokenization directly into their systems. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) will begin limited production trades of tokenized securities in July, with a broader launch in October. Nasdaq is developing a framework for blockchain-based shares, potentially as early as 2027, and has already received regulatory approval for certain stocks. Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, also has plans for tokenized equities.
Second, the rise of trusted digital cash is enabling instant settlement. Citi expects stablecoins to reach a $1.9 trillion market by 2030, working alongside digital bank deposits to allow simultaneous asset-cash swaps. This growth alone could create $1 trillion in new demand for U.S. government bonds, as stablecoin issuers back their tokens with real Treasuries.
Third, regulatory clarity is improving. The U.S. Senate Banking Committee advanced the Clarity Act on May 14 with a 15-9 bipartisan vote, ending a four-month stall and moving the bill toward a full Senate vote.
Citi anticipates that tokenization will first take hold in mainstream public markets—U.S. stocks and government bonds—rather than slower-moving private markets. The bank assumes 10% of the U.S. Treasury bill market and 3% of U.S. public equities will be tokenized by 2030. If just 10% of everyday U.S. investors adopt digital trading platforms, it could generate $2.6 trillion in demand for tokenized stocks. By contrast, private credit and private equity are each expected to reach only $100 billion globally by 2030.
The transition will not be seamless. Citi likens it to the rollout of electronic toll tags like E-ZPass: old and new systems will run side by side for years, causing temporary friction. Ultimately, the report forecasts a major advantage for “structural orchestrators”—large banks and investment firms that control both the real assets and the digital cash rails, allowing them to manage entire trades within their own networks.
