Matthew Horne, head of digital asset strategists at Fidelity Investments, asserted during a panel at Longitude Singapore that the institutional push toward an onchain future has reached a point of no return. Speaking on Thursday, Horne noted that over the last 18 months, true institutions have increasingly adopted tokenization initiatives because they provide access to new markets and offer structural advantages compared to traditional investment products. He emphasized that US asset managers are particularly incentivized to move assets onchain to improve investor access.
This sentiment aligns with recent regulatory developments and market data. In December 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a “no action” letter to a subsidiary of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, enabling a new securities market tokenization service. Additionally, in September, the SEC approved a temporary exemption allowing limited trading of tokenized US stocks on certain onchain venues. Securitize subsequently announced the launch of trading for tokenized shares of a dozen widely held US traded stocks. Market metrics reflect this momentum: RWA.xyz reported that demand for tokenized assets rose by 41% in the past 30 days, with holders topping 493,000 addresses excluding stablecoins. OnchainBenchmark indicated that more than $1.2 billion in capital moved onchain during the same period, bringing the total across stablecoins and tokenized assets to over $323 billion.
The declaration by a major asset manager like Fidelity signals a critical inflection point where tokenization transitions from experimental pilot programs to core infrastructure strategy. The reference to "structural advantages" suggests that institutions are not merely chasing yield but are recognizing efficiency gains in settlement, transparency, and accessibility that traditional rails cannot easily replicate. This shift is underpinned by specific regulatory greenlights, such as the SEC’s actions regarding the DTCC and tokenized stock trading, which reduce compliance uncertainty for large-scale deployments.
As treasuries and equities become primary vehicles for bringing billions onchain, the competitive landscape will likely focus on distribution layers rather than just asset issuance. UBS’s observation that industry players can "piggyback" on these initiatives highlights a potential bifurcation between asset originators and technology providers. The rapid growth in holder counts and capital inflows indicates that liquidity is forming quickly, but sustained institutional participation will depend on whether these onchain venues can match the reliability and legal certainty of legacy systems as volumes scale toward projected multi-trillion dollar levels.
