TokenizeThis 2026: Tokenisation Shifts From Debate to Delivery Gap

The TokenizeThis 2026 conference marked a notable change in tone for the tokenised real-world asset (RWA) industry: the question of whether institutions want tokenisation has been settled, and the conversation has moved to whether the infrastructure can actually deliver at scale. Bitcoin trading near $60,000 barely registered as a topic on stage, underscoring how far the tokenisation narrative has separated from broader crypto market sentiment.

The macro backdrop is driving optimism. Tokenised RWAs have surpassed $30 billion, approximately six times their level at the start of 2025, according to figures cited at the event. A survey by EY and Coinbase Institutional found that 64% of asset managers now want to tokenise, up from 40% a year earlier. Regulatory momentum is a key factor: the GENIUS Act legitimised payment stablecoins, and the CLARITY Act, still moving through the US Senate, was repeatedly flagged as the more consequential catalyst. RedStone co-founder Marcin Kazmierczak described CLARITY as a potential 10x or even 100x event relative to GENIUS because it would open a wider range of asset classes to tokenisation.

The clearest operational traction sits in collateral and cash management. Broadridge’s Robert Krugman noted the firm processes roughly $370 billion of tokenised repo daily on the Canton network, a fraction of the $12 trillion US repo market but a functioning one. Apollo‘s Christine Moy pointed to her firm’s tokenised private credit fund, highlighting secondary liquidity and the ability to post private credit as collateral in decentralised finance protocols such as Aave and Morpho. WisdomTree‘s Maredith Hannon described a US construction company settling a same-day payment to an Argentine vendor through a tokenised money market fund, with the treasurer earning yield during transit. Citi‘s Ryan Rugg outlined the bank’s tokenised deposits and 24/7 dollar clearing, while noting clients want multi-bank rails rather than a single institution’s token.

The distribution and compliance gaps remain unresolved. Apollo’s Moy observed that the next investor cohort entered finance through crypto wallets, not brokerage accounts, and that meeting them where they are requires rethinking distribution architecture. Fidelity’s Jasmine Jia described how a client receiving a token as an airdrop, even a trivial sum, triggered internal compliance escalation, illustrating how legacy compliance systems are not yet equipped for on-chain asset flows. A survey figure cited at the event placed blockchain integration among the top barriers named by 49% of respondents, suggesting the gap between minting and genuine utility remains the industry’s central challenge.