The following is a guest article from Thomas Labenbacher, founder and CEO of Asseta.
While the crypto industry 2024 leaves at a high level-a year full of explosive growth-2025 becomes an essential part of the evolution of industry.
The rise in the tokenization of Real-World Asset (RWA) and the institutional inflow into crypto will accelerate, driven by five important sectors that show the most explosive growth potential. Each of these trends will have major consequences for the future of the financial sector.
Tokenization transforms market liquidity
The far-reaching impact of topping traditional Real-World Assets (RWAs) will be pronounced in 2025, which greatly improves liquidity and the market access is broadened, and a shift in the way we think about the possession of assets and trade In assets. Tokenization will traditionally improve illiquid assets through fractional ownership and 24/7 trade on blockchain platforms, giving smaller players access to previously exclusively institutional assets.
The Tokenized Asset market is expected to reach $ 5 trillionAn increase compared to around $ 310 billion in 2022, with real estate worth $ 1.4 trillion and $ 1 trillion of bonds. Fractional property could attract 20% to 30% more private investors, while more than 80% of the institutional investors will apply tokenization. The liquidity premium for illiquid assets could be 5% to 20%, whereby the liquidity of real estate would improve up to 60% compared to traditional investments.
The US, the EU and Asia will dominate the adoption of tokenization, accounting for more than 85% of the market. As a clear sign of market maturation, the number of tokenized effects that is listed on blockchain-based platforms is expected to grow by 200%.
And as the market for tokenized assets grows, the regulatory framework evolves around these innovations to keep pace.
Large shifts in the regulations are changing the landscape
The regulatory climate does not stand still – far from that. Global regulatory frameworks will create more clarity for digital effects in 2025, which marks a crucial evolution in the way in which these assets are managed and traded. This development comes at a critical moment, because the sector has long been looking for clearer guidelines to operate inside.
New uniform regulations will promote cross-border trade and reduce legal ambiguities, while compliance instruments that integrate blockchain analyzes will streamline compliance with regulations. These are substantial changes that new doors will open for market participants.
The impact is already visible: markets that meet frameworks such as MiFID, Micar and DLT in the EU could witness a 30% -40% growth In the field of institutional participation. It is even expected that more than 80% of the jurisdictions worldwide will implement clear regulations on digital assets, at 50% in 2023.
In order to support this evolution in the regulations, the number of regulated tokens is expected 50% Annually, where compliance software will reach a size of $ 6 billion in 2025.
Now that clearer regulations offer a stable basis, traditional financial institutions are increasingly recognizing the potential of Tokenized Assets.
The rise of institutional participation stimulates adulthood
Next year the sector will probably see a potential increase in institutional investments, driven by improved infrastructure, storage solutions and instruments for risk management. As more large players enter the market, the ecosystem is fundamentally strengthened. One of the most important incentives for institutions to increasingly participate in secondary markets are better storage solutions and shorter settlement times, made possible by infrastructure -based infrastructure.
In order to meet the advanced needs of institutional investors, risk management instruments, including smart contract audits and automated compliance systems, tackle operational and regulatory risks, while specialized preservators will build a bridge between traditional financial and blockchain -based trade.
The institutional trade in digital assets, including Stablecoins, is expected to grow from 35% of the total market volume in 2023 to 50% in 2025. $ 5- $ 6 trillion annual. Institutions are likely to contribute more than 70% of the liquidity on the secondary markets for tokenized effects, supported by improved blockchain infrastructure and shorter settlement times. At the same time, real-time settlement, made possible by blockchain, could save $ 10 billion annually by eliminating traditional clearing processes.
Leading providers such as Fireblocks, Anchorage and Bitgo are expected to be safe in the field of custody $ 5 trillion To digital assets in 2025, compared to $ 1.5 trillion in 2023.
As the institutional adoption grows, the need for better integration paths between different blockchain networks becomes increasingly important.
The evolution of interoperability makes cross -cross trade possible
Perhaps one of the most exciting developments on the horizon is how progress in the field of blockchain interoperability in 2025 will enable seamless trade between platforms and jurisdictions, so that assets issued on one blockchain can be seamlessly traded over multiple platforms and jurisdictions Via interoperability protocols that make cross-chain possible. Transfers to promote a united ecosystem for secondary markets.
This will reduce fragmentation, giving traders and investors access to global liquidity pools without having to switch between insulated networks, and increase the growing pace of the cross -border trade by removing barriers on changing currencies and local custodianship. Nevertheless, the harmonization of the regulations will remain an important challenge, where close cooperation between technology suppliers and policy makers are needed.
The potential impact is considerable: interoperable networks can handle this problem 50% of tokenized transactionsIn which cross-chain can potentially double the trade volumes compared to competitors with one chain.
If we look at the wider ecosystem, up to 70% of the secondary market platforms could adopt via more than cross -cross solutions 150 Operational bridgesThis is gradually distinguished from the systems that suffered from security problems in the past, making seamless interoperability between blockchain ecosystems possible. At the end of 2025, the packaged assets will also represent a token value of $ 1 trillion in all chains, whereby cross-chain platforms will shorten the finality times of transactions by 40% to 60% and will improve capital efficiency and trade speeds.
While traditional institutions embrace tokenization, parallel innovations in decentralized financing reform the way in which these assets can be traded and managed.
A faster adoption of decentralized platforms speeds up the transformation
The last trend we see is how different Defi models will continue to increase the meaning of their role in facilitating peer-to-peer trade on the secondary market with minimal intermediaries, and will become increasingly prominent. This changes everything with regard to the way we think about financial intermediation.
As a result, the Defi trading volumes in the secondary markets are expected to fall $ 500 billion annually by the end of 2025, an increase of 200% compared to 2023, while liquidity pools for Tokenized assets could manage more than $ 80 billion in assets, which offers immediate trade opportunities. Platforms will also use smart contracts to automate investor rights such as votes and dividend payments, which is held up for more institutional participation. Ultimately, Defi acceptance among institutional users could increase to 30% – compared to less than 10% in 2023 – thanks to improved instruments for administration and risk management.
