TL;DR
- A bank projects that decentralized finance will have $2 trillion in tokenized assets by 2028.
- This growth would be based on a liquidity cycle driven by the widespread adoption of stablecoins.
- Tokenized funds and listed stocks would lead this expansion with trillions of dollars in value.
Standard Chartered Bank projects that decentralized finance will hold two trillion dollars in tokenized real-world assets by 2028. This forecast points to a substantial expansion from the current thirty-five billion dollar market. The bank’s report identifies the present growth in stablecoins as a primary driver for this change.
DeFi systems operate on blockchain technology. They function without central intermediaries like banks. Instead, they use open-source software and smart contracts to execute financial activities. This structure offers a different model from traditional finance, which relies on established centralized institutions.
A Self-Fueling Growth Cycle
According to the report, a reinforcing cycle is now in motion. Stablecoin adoption provides the DeFi system with increased on-chain liquidity. This liquidity then supports the development of new services for lending and borrowing. These new products, in turn, attract more users and additional capital to the system. The process chips away at the dominance of traditional finance.
Tokenized money-market funds and listed equities are each expected to represent about seven hundred fifty billion dollars of the total. Other asset classes will include private equity, corporate debt, and real estate.
The main obstacle to this progress would be a delay in regulatory clarity from the United States. Standard Chartered considers this a secondary possibility. The organic expansion of DeFi continues to build momentum.
