tokenization

Several European tokenization and market infrastructure companies have jointly written to EU lawmakers, urging for a prompt revision of the EU's DLT Pilot Regime. Securitize, 21X, Boerse Stuttgart Group, and others pointed out that the current asset scope, issuance size limits, and six-year license restrictions have hindered the expansion of regulated on-chain markets.Relevant institutions believe that if adjustments are delayed, global liquidity may permanently shift in favor of the U.S. due to advancements in tokenized securities and near-real-time settlement. The proposal is not about relaxing regulations, but rather about technically "quickly revising" to expand the scope of eligible assets, raise limits, and remove time restrictions to maintain the competitiveness of European capital markets.

Ethereum treasury company ETHZilla (ETHZ) is accelerating its layout of asset tokenization, investing $4.7 million to acquire a portfolio of 95 manufactured home and modular housing loans, and plans to tokenize these loans on the Ethereum Layer-2 network, issuing cash flow digital tokens to investors through the regulated trading platform Liquidity.io.The loan portfolio is secured by a priority lien, with an expected annual yield of about 10%. McAndrew Rudisill, Chairman and CEO of ETHZilla, stated that this transaction is a natural extension of the company's tokenization strategy, as manufactured home loans have stable cash flows and strong collateral assets, making them very suitable for tokenization within a regulated and transparent framework. This move by ETHZilla comes after a significant decline in its core crypto assets, with the company's stock price having dropped over 90% from its peak of $107 in 2025, and last year it sold over $110 million in ETH for stock buybacks and debt repayment. Previously, ETHZilla also invested in the manufactured home loan company Zippy and acquired two jet engine turbines awaiting tokenization, demonstrating its ongoing push towards the tokenization of diverse physical assets.

Matrixport's RWA platform Matrixdock has officially released the “Matrixdock Outlook 2026: Building the Reserve Layer for the On-Chain Economy”, which outlines its judgment framework for the evolution of on-chain financial infrastructure in the next phase and reveals its strategic path towards 2026.The report points out that tokenization has moved from the "asset on-chain" phase to the second phase, where the core focus is no longer on technical feasibility, but rather on whether the assets can be included in institutional balance sheets, support regulated capital, and operate stably across different market cycles. Based on this judgment, Matrixdock further elaborates on the development logic and implementation path of the "on-chain financial reserve layer" in the report, believing that a foundational asset layer composed of high-quality, transparent, and verifiable tokenized assets will be key to supporting the scalable development of on-chain finance.Matrixdock states that its focus for 2026 is not on the rapid expansion of asset quantity, but on promoting the scalable implementation of reserve-grade assets in the on-chain financial system through a prudent, transparent, and long-term approach.

According to CoinDesk, WisdomTree CEO Jonathan Steinberg, whose assets reach $150 billion, stated that cryptocurrency has now become a core part of its business.The company's layout in the tokenization field is close to profitability, with tokenized assets growing from about $30 million to approximately $750 million, while also expanding into emerging blockchains like Solana. Jonathan Steinberg views cryptocurrency as the cornerstone of modern financial infrastructure and points out that initiatives such as tokenized funds, the WisdomTree Connect platform, and strategic investments in compliant tokenization technology are key to the company's long-term growth.

According to Cointelegraph, starting Tuesday, eligible MetaMask users from non-U.S. countries will be able to access 200 tokenized U.S. stocks, ETFs, and commodities, such as gold and silver, through the Ethereum network.The service allows users to obtain tokenized assets by swapping with Circle's USDC via MetaMask Swaps, converting the stablecoin into Ondo Global Markets (GM) tokens, which are designed to track the value of their underlying assets on a 1:1 basis.

Billiton Diamond and Ctrl Alt are tokenizing certified diamonds on the XRP Ledger with a total value of over $280 million, using Ripple's custody technology.

The Hang Seng Gold ETF has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the first physical gold ETF in Hong Kong that allows individual investors to redeem directly from banks. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, stated at the 19th Asian Financial Forum (AFF) held in Hong Kong that the Hang Seng Gold ETF not only provides an option for redeeming physical gold at banks but also plans to distribute through licensed digital asset trading platforms.According to Li Peishan, Executive Director and CEO of Hang Seng Investment Management, the tokenized non-listed category of the Hang Seng Gold ETF is currently in the final testing phase and is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2026. The tokenized category will also be open to retail investors, with an anticipated lower entry fee. Currently, only USD-denominated shares are arranged, but this category will not have a physical gold redemption option.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released new guidance on tokenized securities, clearly stating that whether a security is regulated depends on its legal characteristics, rather than whether it is in a tokenized form; tokenization itself does not change the applicability of securities laws.The statement further distinguishes between issuer-sponsored tokenized securities and third-party tokenized securities, and covers different structures such as custodial models and synthetic models, aiming to provide clearer regulatory guidance for market participants to conduct related business within a compliance framework.

According to CoinDesk, asset tokenization startup Tenbin Labs has completed a $7 million seed round financing, led by Galaxy Ventures, with participation from Wintermute Ventures, GSR, FalconX, and others.Tenbin plans to launch its first tokenized gold product earlier this year, followed by high-yield forex tokens pegged to emerging market currencies such as the Brazilian real and the Mexican peso, targeting DeFi users seeking alternatives to dollar stablecoins.

RWA tokenization platform OpenEden has partnered with FalconX to launch the tokenized multi-strategy yield investment portfolio PRISM, which aims to provide stable returns with low correlation to cryptocurrency prices. The product will be fully launched in February 2026. The presale is now open.

According to Aastocks, China Pacific Insurance (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. (CPIC IMHK) has established a strategic partnership with investment group Hivemind Capital to create a tokenized fund for real-world assets (RWA).The initial target for the fund platform is set at $500 million, with the specific amount depending on market conditions, demand from institutional and other non-retail qualified investors, and approval from relevant regulatory authorities. The two companies are committed to combining on-chain investment infrastructure with established asset management practices to provide transparent, compliant, and institutional-grade tokenized investment products.

Casterman Advisory founder André Casterman posted on the X platform that 2026 will be a critical turning point for the crypto market, with the industry's focus shifting from "whether we need crypto" to building new financial infrastructure. Tokenization and digital assets will transition from pilot phases to regulated production-level deployments.In terms of transaction banking, central banks and institutions worldwide have adopted a unified "wholesale-first" strategy for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenized deposits, and regulated stablecoins (such as USDC and RLUSD). The upcoming crypto market structure legislation will support institutional applications, and once regulations are clear, banks will invest heavily in areas such as crypto trading. Digital currency forms will coexist and achieve interoperability, with blockchain becoming a parallel financial rail, while banks continue to act as intermediaries, shifting the industry's focus towards building infrastructure under clear regulation.

Binance founder CZ spoke at the "Financial New Era" panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, stating that the overall scale of the trading platform has surpassed last year. Currently, the crypto industry has two mature sectors: trading platforms and stablecoins. He is optimistic about three new directions for the future:First, Tokenization is a very important direction. By tokenizing certain assets, governments can effectively address financial issues, enhance the efficiency of the financial system, and thereby promote the development of related industries and trading markets.The second is Payments. In the past, we have also tried crypto payments, but frankly, there weren't many actual users. However, there is now a trend emerging: traditional payment methods are integrating with crypto technology. For example, users complete payments using cards like Visa and Mastercard, funds are deducted from their accounts, and merchants receive fiat currency, while settlements and bridging occur behind the scenes through stablecoins and blockchain. This model is gradually being implemented and will definitely develop in the future.The third direction is Artificial Intelligence (AI). He believes that the "native currency" of AI Agents should naturally be cryptocurrency, as blockchain is currently the most suitable native technological interface for AI Agents. Today's AI is not yet a true Agent; they do not book flights, reserve restaurants, or complete payments directly for you. However, once AI truly possesses the ability to act and transact, cryptocurrency will become its most natural and native method of payment and settlement.

ARK Invest, in its latest report "Big Ideas 2026," points out that Bitcoin, DeFi, and the tokenization of real-world assets are transitioning from a "crypto narrative" to a functional component of global capital markets, which will dominate the industry's development direction after 2026.The report predicts that by 2030, the overall size of digital assets could grow to $28 trillion, with Bitcoin accounting for about 70% (approximately $16 trillion). The main drivers are the continuous influx of funds into ETFs and companies incorporating Bitcoin into their balance sheets. Currently, U.S. ETFs and publicly listed companies hold about 12% of the total Bitcoin supply, a significant increase from early 2025. ARK also notes that the value of DeFi is shifting from the underlying networks to the application layer. In 2025, DeFi applications are expected to generate approximately $3.8 billion in revenue, with some ultra-lightweight protocols nearing or even matching the efficiency of traditional fintech companies in terms of human resources and asset management. Regarding tokenization, ARK estimates that the scale of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization could reach $11 trillion by 2030. By 2025, the scale of related assets has already grown to about $19 billion, benefiting from the on-chain advancement of assets like U.S. Treasuries and gold. Several interviewees emphasized that regulatory clarity will be a decisive variable. Analysts believe that although technology and business models are rapidly maturing, the implementation of custody, compliance, and investor protection rules will determine whether Bitcoin, DeFi, and tokenized assets can truly achieve large-scale mainstream adoption.

F/m Investments, an ETF issuer managing approximately $18 billion, has applied for regulatory approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to tokenize its ETF shares and record them on a permissioned blockchain ledger. The product the company intends to tokenize is its U.S. Treasury 3-Month Bill ETF (TBIL, NASDAQ: TBIL).F/m Investments stated that this is the first time an institution has explicitly applied to the SEC for an exemption regarding the "tokenization of registered investment company ETF shares." The company claims that if approved, the existing TBIL ETF shares will be represented on the permissioned ledger with the same CUSIP code, and will maintain consistency in rights, fees, voting rights, and economic terms with the existing ETF shares, remaining subject to the Investment Company Act of 1940.The company also emphasized that the relevant arrangements will continue to retain board oversight, daily information disclosure, and third-party custody and audit mechanisms. F/m Investments CEO Alexander Morris stated that the trend of tokenizing traditional financial instruments is inevitable.

According to The Block, tokenization startup Cork announced the completion of a $5.5 million seed round financing, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), CSX, and Road Capital, with participation from 432 Ventures, BitGo Ventures, Cooley, DEPO Ventures, Funfair Ventures, G20 Group, Gate Labs, Hyperithm Gate, IDEO Ventures, PEER VC, Stake Capital, and WAGMI Ventures.Cork is dedicated to building a "programmable risk layer," aimed at making the implicit risks in real-world assets transparent and tradable through tokenization. Its infrastructure allows asset managers, issuers, and others to create customized swap markets to enhance the redemption liquidity, risk transparency, and market confidence of on-chain assets. This tool can also be used to assess the risks of crypto-native products such as stablecoins and staked tokens. The team plans to launch the first production-grade risk markets in the coming months and expand collaborations with treasury and asset issuers.