Asset Tokenization in Capital Markets: Broadridge 2025 Survey Reveals the $16 Trillion Opportunity

From Concept to Reality: The State of Asset Tokenization

Asset tokenization has shifted from a theoretical concept discussed at blockchain conferences to an operational reality reshaping capital markets. The Broadridge 2025 tokenization survey, covering 300 financial institutions across North America and Europe, provides the most comprehensive look yet at how asset managers, custodians, and wealth managers are embracing this transformation.

The findings are striking: more than half of surveyed institutions are either already offering tokenized products or actively planning to do so within two years. Industry projections place the total value of tokenized assets between $10 trillion and $16 trillion by 2030, with growth concentrated in private markets, U.S. Treasuries, and fund tokenization. For financial professionals tracking this evolution, the data reveals both enormous opportunity and genuine challenges that must be addressed.

This analysis breaks down the Broadridge survey data across adoption rates, asset class demand, institutional benefits, regulatory developments, and infrastructure requirements. Whether you are evaluating tokenization for your own portfolio or analyzing the competitive landscape, the numbers tell a clear story: asset tokenization is no longer optional for forward-looking financial institutions. For more context on how technology is transforming finance, explore our interactive library of research reports.

Asset Tokenization Adoption Rates Across Financial Institutions

The Broadridge survey reveals a clear adoption hierarchy among financial institutions. Custodians are leading the charge with 63% already offering tokenized asset services and another 30% planning to enter within two years. This leaves just 7% of custodians with no current tokenization plans—a remarkable level of engagement for what was considered an emerging technology only a few years ago.

Asset managers show a different profile. Only 15% have launched tokenized offerings, though 41% plan to introduce them soon. The remaining 44% are non-adopters, many still evaluating the business case. Wealth managers trail further behind, with just 10% currently offering tokenized products and 33% planning future launches. A majority 57% of wealth managers remain on the sidelines.

Across all institution types, the overall picture shows 18% as early adopters, 37% as future adopters, and 45% as non-adopters. Notably, the gap between early adopters and non-adopters extends beyond mere participation. Early adopters identify an average of 4.3 distinct benefits from tokenization, compared to just 2.9 for non-adopters—suggesting that hands-on experience significantly increases perceived value. This experience gap may create a widening competitive advantage as the market matures.

The Benefits Driving Asset Tokenization Adoption

Financial institutions that have already adopted asset tokenization report a broad spectrum of benefits. Improved transparency and data tracking tops the list at 66% across all respondents, rising to 76% among early adopters. This advantage stems from blockchain’s inherent properties: every transaction is recorded on a distributed ledger, providing real-time visibility into ownership, transfer history, and compliance status.

Greater liquidity and investor accessibility comes in second at 61%, a benefit that cuts across all adoption stages. The ability to fractionalize assets—breaking a $5 million private equity stake into thousands of smaller tokens—fundamentally changes who can participate in previously exclusive markets. Lower operational costs rank third at 57%, with early adopters reporting the highest gains (74%) as they eliminate reconciliation layers, reduce settlement times, and automate compliance processes through smart contracts.

Two-thirds of early adopters report faster, more cost-effective servicing for traditional products including bonds, equities, and private equity. The cybersecurity and regulatory compliance benefits are also notable: 61% of early adopters cite improved risk management and auditability, compared to just 31% of non-adopters. This suggests that actual implementation experience dispels many theoretical security concerns. As the Bank for International Settlements has noted, tokenization’s programmability through smart contracts can automate compliance checks that currently require manual oversight.

Which Asset Classes Are Being Tokenized First

Not all asset classes are being tokenized at the same pace. The Broadridge survey reveals that private assets dominate early tokenization demand, particularly among institutional investors. Private equity leads institutional interest, with 76% of early adopters anticipating increased demand, followed by private credit at 67% and real estate at 65%.

Individual investors show a slightly different preference pattern. Real estate tops their list at 65% among early adopters, followed closely by private equity at 61%. Art and collectibles attract surprisingly strong interest at 43%, suggesting that tokenization’s ability to fractionalize illiquid assets resonates strongly with retail audiences. Commodities round out the list at 35% for individual investors.

On the public markets side, U.S. Treasuries and money market instruments have emerged as a proving ground for tokenization infrastructure. BlackRock’s BUIDL fund—focused on tokenized U.S. Treasuries—has grown to over $2.3 billion in assets under management since launching in 2023. Franklin Templeton’s FOBXX fund became the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain as its system of record. These high-profile deployments are validating the technology stack while building institutional confidence for broader asset class expansion.

Real-World Asset Tokenization: BlackRock, Hamilton Lane, and Beyond

The most compelling evidence for asset tokenization’s maturity comes from the major players already operating at scale. BlackRock’s BUIDL fund operates across multiple public blockchains, processing tokenized U.S. Treasury and money market instruments for institutional clients. At $2.3 billion in AUM, it represents the largest tokenized fund product to date.

Hamilton Lane, managing over $940 billion in assets, has partnered with Securitize to tokenize feeder funds on the Polygon blockchain. The result: minimum investment thresholds dropped from $5 million to as little as $20,000, dramatically expanding access to institutional-grade private equity. Apollo Global Management has piloted tokenized private credit funds through the Figure platform, while KKR has experimented with tokenized private equity vehicles.

The public equities frontier is advancing rapidly as well. Robinhood and Kraken are pioneering tokenized U.S. stocks for European investors via Arbitrum layer-2 blockchain, while Dinari received SEC approval to offer tokenized U.S. equities domestically. Galaxy Digital became the first public company in the United States to natively issue tokenized equity. BNY Mellon has launched its Digital Asset Data Insights product, broadcasting fund accounting data on Ethereum using smart contracts—a clear signal that legacy infrastructure is being augmented with blockchain capabilities.

“Tokenization will eventually allow us to meet investors where they are—digitally, directly, and globally.” — Head of Strategy, Wealth Platform, EU

Risks and Barriers to Asset Tokenization

Despite strong momentum, asset tokenization faces genuine obstacles. Regulatory uncertainty and legal risk remain the top concern, cited by 73% of all survey respondents. Interestingly, future adopters express the highest concern at 78%, while early adopters who have navigated these challenges firsthand report a lower 65%—suggesting that regulatory fears may be somewhat overestimated by those who have not yet engaged with the process.

Technology and cybersecurity concerns rank second at 54%, but the data reveals a significant perception gap. Among non-adopters, 70% cite technology risk as a major barrier, compared to just 41% of early adopters. This disparity indicates that direct implementation experience substantially reduces perceived technological risk. Specific concerns include smart contracts with exploitable code, insecure wallet integrations, and mismanaged digital identities.

The investor education gap presents another challenge. Fewer than half of surveyed firms believe investors adequately understand tokenization risks. As one Chief Investment Officer from a U.S. brokerage noted: “Implementation of tokenization requires careful consideration of security measures to mitigate risks.” Infrastructure limitations also pose barriers, with legacy systems not designed for blockchain interaction creating siloed data environments and duplicative workflows for reconciliation, reporting, and compliance. Explore how leading institutions are addressing these challenges through our curated collection of financial technology reports.

Regulatory Landscape for Tokenized Securities: U.S., EU, UK, and Canada

The regulatory environment for asset tokenization is evolving rapidly across major jurisdictions, with each taking a distinct approach. In the United States, the shift from enforcement-first to proactive guidance has been marked by several landmark developments. The GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025, with bipartisan support, establishes guardrails for payment stablecoins including one-to-one reserve backing, transparency requirements, and regulatory oversight. The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act aims to define jurisdictional boundaries between the SEC and CFTC for digital assets.

The SEC has confirmed that tokenized securities remain subject to existing securities laws, while SEC Chair Paul Atkins has identified stock tokenization as a regulatory priority. A Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets has outlined recommendations for SEC action, including amendments to Regulation NMS to accommodate tokenized trading venues.

In the European Union, the MiCA regulation coming into force in 2025-2026 defines asset-referenced tokens and clarifies issuer responsibilities. However, its focus on crypto assets leaves ambiguity around tokenized traditional securities. ESMA and the Bank of Lithuania have been scrutinizing tokenized equity products over concerns about consent and transparency. The United Kingdom has adopted a Digital Securities Sandbox approach, with HM Treasury endorsing legislation enabling DLT-based settlement in 2024. Canada takes a cautiously experimental approach, with sandbox programs and exemptions for digital fund offerings, though national regulatory harmonization remains a work in progress.

As one EU-based Head of Digital Assets observed: “Without a globally consistent framework, we’re limited in how far we can scale tokenized offerings.” This cross-border challenge ranks among the top regulatory gaps cited by survey respondents, alongside clear securities classification guidelines (65%) and enhanced investor protection measures (63%).

Infrastructure Shifts: Blockchain as the System of Record for Tokenized Assets

The Broadridge survey identifies three core infrastructure shifts driving asset tokenization forward. First, nearly three-quarters of institutions believe blockchain is likely or very likely to become the primary system of record for digital securities—a seismic change from traditional centralized recordkeeping systems. This shift means ownership, transfers, and corporate actions would be tracked natively on distributed ledgers rather than through layers of intermediary databases.

Second, transfer and servicing functions are being fundamentally redefined. Among tokenization-active custodians, 91% cite improvements in efficiency and transparency across transfer and servicing operations. Registrar, transfer agency, and fund servicing roles—long dependent on batch processing and manual reconciliation—are being automated through smart contracts that execute transfers, distributions, and compliance checks in real time.

Third, new distribution channels are emerging that bypass traditional intermediary-heavy models. The technology stack supporting this evolution includes public blockchains like Ethereum, Polygon, and Arbitrum layer-2 networks, alongside stablecoins such as USDC for settlement. Oracles, aggregators, and DeFi constructs add programmability layers. Broadridge itself processes over $15 trillion in daily average trading volume across equities and fixed income, and its Distributed Ledger Repo platform represents one of the largest institutional blockchain deployments.

Compliance and security remain the top infrastructure priorities, cited by 62% of surveyed firms. The challenge lies in building bridges between legacy custody, trade processing, and fund administration tools and the new blockchain-native infrastructure—without introducing additional risk or disrupting existing operations.

Direct-to-Investor Distribution and the Future of Tokenized Asset Access

One of the most transformative implications of asset tokenization is the potential for direct-to-investor distribution. More than 80% of early adopters recognize significant potential for enhanced client engagement and operational simplification through direct distribution models. Over 75% of asset managers say direct-to-investor distribution is important to their tokenization strategy, and 85% of all surveyed firms believe direct distribution is at least feasible.

This shift has profound implications for the investment value chain. Traditional distribution relies on multiple intermediaries—broker-dealers, transfer agents, platforms, and advisors—each adding costs and latency. Tokenization enables asset managers to reach investors directly through blockchain-based platforms, reducing fees and enabling 24/7 access to products that previously required complex onboarding processes and high minimums.

Hamilton Lane’s reduction of minimum investments from $5 million to $20,000 illustrates the democratization potential. A Chief Strategy Officer at a UK retail asset manager captured the vision: “Tokenization will facilitate the creation of new products, opening new market opportunities for financial firms to reach more investors in different wealth segments.” However, this direct access model also threatens wealth managers and intermediaries who rely on distribution fees, creating competitive tension that will shape the industry’s evolution. For further exploration of how digital transformation is changing financial services, browse our interactive research library.

What Comes Next: The Road to $16 Trillion in Tokenized Assets

The Broadridge 2025 survey paints a picture of an industry at an inflection point. With 55% of financial institutions either active or planning tokenized offerings, and projections placing the market at $10 to $16 trillion by 2030, asset tokenization is transitioning from early experimentation to mainstream adoption. The bulk of growth is expected from private markets, treasuries, and fund tokenization—asset classes where the benefits of fractional ownership, improved liquidity, and reduced operational costs are most pronounced.

Several catalysts are converging to accelerate this trajectory. Regulatory frameworks are crystallizing across the U.S., EU, and UK, reducing the uncertainty that has been the top barrier to adoption. Major institutions including BlackRock, Hamilton Lane, and BNY Mellon are committing significant resources to tokenization infrastructure, creating network effects that pull smaller players into the ecosystem. And the technology stack—from public blockchains to stablecoins to smart contract platforms—has matured enough to support institutional-grade operations.

For financial institutions still on the sidelines, the data sends a clear message. Early adopters are seeing tangible benefits: greater transparency, lower costs, improved compliance, and expanded investor access. The gap between adopters and non-adopters in perceived benefits (4.3 versus 2.9 on average) suggests that waiting too long may mean falling behind on both operational capabilities and competitive positioning. The question is no longer whether asset tokenization will reshape capital markets, but how quickly institutions will adapt to claim their share of the $16 trillion opportunity.