Grayscale Research says tokenization could become one of the largest shifts in global finance. The firm said the market is still early, as only 0.01% of global stocks and bonds is onchain today.
The report estimates tokenized assets at about 30 billion dollars. It also said the wider securities market is worth about 300 trillion dollars.
The Tokenization Market Remains Small Today
Tokenization means placing asset rights on a blockchain as digital tokens. These tokens can represent bonds, funds, commodities, credit products, stocks, or other assets.
Grayscale said tokenization can reduce settlement delays. It can also create shared records between market users.
The report said tokenized assets have grown 217% year over year. However, that market remains tiny beside global capital markets.
NEW: Grayscale Research says tokenization is a $300T megatrend, just 0.01% is onchain so far. $ETH, $SOL, $CC, $BNB, $AVAX, $LINK appear to be the key tokens.
Near-term: big opportunity for $CC (privacy)
Long-term: large opportunity for open networks like $ETH, $SOL
Read…
— Grayscale (@Grayscale) April 30, 2026
Tokenized U.S. Treasuries lead the current market with about 15 billion dollars. Commodities follow with about 5 billion dollars.
Smaller areas include private credit, funds, equities, and other real-world assets. Grayscale said these markets may expand as more issuers move onchain.
Ethereum Solana and Canton Lead the Race
Grayscale named Ethereum, Solana, Canton, Avalanche, BNB Chain, and Chainlink as key protocols. The firm said they may benefit as tokenized assets grow.
Ethereum has the largest open network ecosystem. The report said Ethereum holds about 50 billion dollars in DeFi total value locked.
Ethereum also leads Solana in tokenized assets today. Grayscale placed Ethereum near 16 billion dollars and Solana near 2 billion dollars.
Solana offers faster and cheaper transactions. The report said Solana has handled over 1,000 transactions per second and 100 million daily transactions.
BNB Chain is also a leading open network. Grayscale linked its reach to Binance, the largest centralized crypto exchange by trading volume.
Canton is different because it focuses on institutions. The report said Canton has over 348 billion dollars in tokenized asset value.
Grayscale said Canton gained attention in 2026 through large institutional partnerships. These included Nomura, Mizuho, Visa, Circle, and Apollo Global.
Privacy May Shape Early Adoption
Grayscale said privacy is a core issue for institutions. Banks and asset managers often cannot show transaction details to the public.
Open networks like Ethereum and Solana are transparent by default. This supports auditability, but it can expose counterparties and transaction amounts.
Institution-focused networks like Canton are private by default. Only approved parties can view specific transaction data.
The report said this gives Canton a near-term edge. It may fit better with how regulated financial firms work today.
However, Grayscale said open networks may gain ground over time. Ethereum and Solana are building privacy and identity tools.
These tools may include Layer 2 systems and zero-knowledge proofs. Grayscale said they still need to mature before broad use.
The firm expects tokenized asset trading to move toward open and permissionless networks over time. It said this shift may take a decade or more.
Chainlink may also play a key role across this market. Grayscale said tokenization is hard to imagine without tools like Chainlink.
“Tokenization is poised to transform capital markets,” Grayscale said. It added that the trend may drive value to the blockchains powering this change.
