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At the centre of global wealth markets lies a persistent inefficiency. Many of the world’s most valuable assets remain effectively inaccessible to a majority of investors. Commercial real estate, private equity, infrastructure, and private credit represent trillions in value, yet high entry thresholds, long lock-in periods, and limited secondary liquidity constrain participation.

Tokenisation addresses this constraint directly. By representing ownership as digital tokens, assets can be divided into smaller, tradable units. This enables fractional participation and allows capital to move more efficiently across markets, redefining access to wealth.

The $2–16 Trillion Unlock: Why Tokenisation, Why Now

Estimates place the potential size of the tokenised asset market between $2 trillion and $16 trillion by 2030. This is not an incremental change, but a reconfiguration of how capital is accessed and deployed

The numbers already reflect momentum. The tokenised real-world asset market grew 85% year-over-year in 2024. PwC's 2025 State of Asset Management report shows tokenised private credit rising 82% and tokenised US Treasuries up 114% in a single year.

The timing is equally significant. The underlying infrastructure has matured, with smart contract platforms, custody solutions, and compliance frameworks now supporting real-world deployment. At the same time, regulatory clarity is beginning to emerge across key markets.

How Tokenisation Works: The Mechanics Behind the Movement

The mechanics of tokenisation are grounded in established financial and legal structures. Assets are placed within a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which issues digital tokens representing proportional ownership. These tokens are governed by programmable smart contracts and on-chain registries record ownership, reducing reliance on fragmented systems.

The lifecycle mirrors traditional processes, but with greater efficiency:

• Issuance: Tokens are created and allocated to investors
• Trading: Tokens are exchanged on secondary platforms
• Settlement: Transactions are completed with reduced friction
• Redemption: Investors exit based on predefined terms

Underpinning this lifecycle is a supporting infrastructure layer:

• Custody solutions safeguard both physical assets and digital access credentials.
• KYC and AML frameworks ensure regulatory compliance at every transaction point.
• Secondary marketplaces enable ongoing trading and price discovery.

The issuance layer is advancing rapidly. Secondary market depth, however, will ultimately determine whether tokenisation delivers on its long-term promise. This is where technology execution becomes defining building platforms that are secure, scalable, interoperable, and compliant by design.

Asset Classes Being Transformed

Tokenisation is gaining traction across asset classes where access has historically been constrained and liquidity limited. Real estate is a leading use case, with fractional ownership expanding access to property investments. Even private equity and private credit are becoming more accessible through tokenisation.

Commodities such as gold, infrastructure assets, and carbon credits are well suited to tokenisation due to their predictable cash flows and defined ownership structures. Art and collectibles, though still niche, are also becoming more accessible through structured participation models.

The WealthTech Opportunity: Platforms and Advisory Evolution

For WealthTech platforms, including digital investment solutions and robo-advisors, tokenisation introduces both a strategic opportunity and a capability challenge. Traditional portfolios have been built around liquid, listed instruments. Integrating tokenised assets requires rethinking how portfolios are constructed, priced, and managed.

Robo-advisory platforms are beginning to incorporate tokenised assets into their allocation models, enabling more diversified exposure to alternative asset classes. This is not simply an extension of asset allocation. It requires more dynamic advisory models that can price illiquidity, assess secondary market depth, and respond to changing market conditions in near real time.

Advisory capabilities will continue to evolve as platforms deepen their understanding of these assets. The ability to evaluate liquidity, valuation uncertainty, and asset-specific risks will become central to delivering meaningful investor guidance.

Several platforms are already enabling on-chain access to stocks, bonds, and ETFs, effectively doing for securities what stablecoins did for digital payments. Large financial institutions are also processing significant monthly repo volumes through tokenised networks and digital asset infrastructure. For robo-advisors and digital wealth managers, the integration question is no longer theoretical.

New revenue models are also emerging. The distribution of tokenised securities, provision of custody services, and operation of marketplace infrastructure are creating additional monetisation pathways beyond traditional AUM-based fees. Platforms investing early in these capabilities are positioning themselves ahead of a market that is evolving faster than many anticipate.

Who Gets Access? Democratisation vs. Regulatory Reality

The promise of democratisation is central to the tokenisation narrative. Lowering entry thresholds creates the potential for broader participation in wealth creation. However, access today remains shaped by regulatory frameworks.

In most jurisdictions, tokenised securities are restricted to accredited or professional investors. These controls are designed to protect investors and maintain market stability. As a result, while access is expanding, it is doing so gradually.

There are signs of change. Regulatory sandboxes, fractional ownership models, and evolving frameworks are creating pathways for wider participation. In India, initiatives such as Small and Medium REITs (SM REITs), which enable fractional real estate investing, and developments in GIFT City, a regulated international financial hub, signal growing openness to new structures.

Globally, markets like the United States, Singapore, and Switzerland are also enabling tokenised assets through evolving regulatory frameworks and sandbox models. The landscape remains fragmented, with jurisdictions progressing at different speeds, creating complexity for platforms operating across markets. The direction is clear, but the path remains uneven.

Risks, Challenges, and What Remains Unresolved

Despite its potential, tokenisation faces several structural challenges that cannot be overlooked.

Liquidity remains the most significant gap. While the promise of tradability is compelling, secondary markets are still developing, creating a risk of liquidity illusion where assets appear tradable but are difficult to exit in practice.

Operational risks are equally important. Smart contracts introduce new forms of vulnerability that require rigorous testing and governance. Custody remains complex, involving both the safeguarding of physical assets and the management of digital access credentials.

Valuation presents another challenge. Many tokenised assets rely on periodic appraisals rather than continuous market pricing, making price discovery less transparent.

Regulatory fragmentation adds further complexity. A structure that is compliant in one jurisdiction may not be recognised in another, increasing operational overhead and slowing adoption.

What’s Next: The Road to Mainstream Tokenised Investing

The next phase of tokenisation will be defined by integration rather than innovation. Interoperability between platforms and blockchain ecosystems will be critical to enabling seamless asset movement and broader participation.

Institutional adoption will act as a key inflection point. As large financial institutions engage more actively, they will bring scale, credibility, and operational discipline to the ecosystem.

Over a three-to-five-year horizon, tokenised assets are likely to become a complementary component of diversified portfolios. For leaders, the priority is shifting from exploration to execution. The focus is now on building the capabilities required to operate in a more complex, hybrid asset environment.

From Understanding to Execution

Tokenisation is not simply about digitising ownership. It represents a broader rethinking of how markets function, how capital is allocated, and how wealth is created.

Understanding the tokenisation opportunity is the starting point. Turning that understanding into real-world impact with execution, regulatory alignment, and infrastructure readiness will define who leads in the next phase of WealthTech.