Bernstein: Tokenized RWA Market Cap Surges 40% Past $51B, Competition in Equity Tokenization Accelerates
Miles Bennett
Tokenized real-world assets hit $51 billion in market cap, up 40% year-to-date, while the broader crypto market fell roughly 20% — institutional capital is betting on tokenization independent of the crypto cycle.
$51 billion in tokenized assets — where is the money going?
Private credit leads at roughly 47%, followed by U.S. Treasuries at 30% and commodities at 9%. This means → institutions are tokenizing fixed income and credit first — the lowest-risk layer, not speculative assets.
On-chain holders topped 917,000, up about 60% year-to-date. In plain terms = it is not just capital flowing in — people are arriving too, and faster than the money.
On the infrastructure side, Provenance (39%) and Ethereum (33%) together host over 70% of tokenized asset activity. Two chains already dominate.
Equity tokenization — what separates the two competing models?
Tokenized equities grew 130% year-to-date, from $700 million to $1.6 billion. Bernstein argues the industry is splitting along two models, and the gap is structural, not cosmetic.
Model one: trading-infrastructure. A regulated broker buys and custodies the underlying stock, then issues a blockchain token as a receipt — enabling 24/7 trading. In plain terms = the token is a trading slip, not actual ownership. Dividends and voting rights stay with the broker, not the token holder. Robinhood's tokenized U.S. stocks for EU investors follow this model.
Model two: settlement-and-exchange infrastructure. The blockchain serves directly as the share-settlement layer. Token holders get full ownership and the same protections as traditional listed securities. This means → the token is the share, not a shadow of it. Figure, Bullish, and Securitize are building the regulated infrastructure stack for this path.
Coinbase's "third way" — what does the universal exchange play look like?
Coinbase is pursuing what Bernstein calls a "multi-asset, single-exchange" hybrid: tokenized stocks, equity perpetual contracts, and pre-IPO perpetuals for non-U.S. investors, plus regulated crypto derivatives for U.S. investors.
Its tokenized stocks are pegged one-to-one to underlying shares, with automatic dividend distribution and programmable on-chain features. In plain terms = it wants stocks, crypto, and derivatives all on one platform, accessible from a single account.
Coinbase is currently the only CFTC-regulated futures commission merchant (FCM) offering U.S. investors access to global crypto derivatives. This reflects a licensing moat underpinning the "universal exchange" positioning — not just product bundling.
Does deregulation decide which model wins?
The SEC has proposed repealing Rules 611 and 610(e). If passed, tokenized stocks could trade more freely on decentralized venues without mandatory routing through traditional exchanges.
In December 2025, the SEC issued a no-action letter to the DTC for a tokenized-equity pilot and approved NYSE and Nasdaq proposals to list tokenized securities. This means → the regulator has moved from watching to actively testing.
The industry is still waiting for a potential "innovation exemption" that would allow tokenized U.S. equities to trade domestically. Bernstein calls it the clearest catalyst for the next leg of growth.
Who is leading, and what do the volumes tell us?
Monthly tokenized-equity transfer volume jumped from $500 million in September 2025 to $3.6 billion in May, hitting an annualized run-rate of $5.3 billion as of June 19 — more than doubling in two months.
Platform rankings by assets: Figure leads at $18.9 billion (driven mainly by private credit), Securitize at $4.3 billion, then Ondo $3.8 billion, Circle $3.0 billion, and Tether $2.5 billion.
This reflects a race far from settled — the top five differ in asset mix and model. Whether regulation loosens on schedule will determine which path ultimately dominates.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.