Tokenization of securities could go from a $17 billion niche to a $5.5 trillion market by 2030, according to a new Citigroup forecast. The bank's projection zeroes in on Ethereum as a network that stands to gain, pointing to BlackRock's BUIDL fund as a live example of Wall Street already putting assets on-chain.
The $5.5 trillion road ahead
Citigroup's numbers are a leap from where the market sits today — $17 billion in tokenized securities. That kind of growth would mean institutional adoption running at a compound annual clip of over 80% for the next four years. The report doesn't name specific assets, but the direction is clear: real-world assets are moving onto blockchains.
Why Ethereum could ride the wave
The bank specifically calls out Ethereum as a potential beneficiary. It's not just theory — BlackRock's BUIDL fund, a tokenized money-market vehicle, already lives on Ethereum. That's a signal to other issuers that the largest smart-contract platform is ready for prime time. If the Citigroup forecast is anywhere close, Ethereum's role as settlement layer for tokenized securities could deepen fast.
Funding rate flips to highest since August 2025
Meanwhile, Ethereum's funding rate — the cost of holding long positions in perpetual futures — hit its highest point since August 2025 this week. That suggests traders are betting on upside. It's not a price prediction, but when funding rates spike alongside a bullish narrative like tokenization, the market is paying attention. Whether that momentum holds depends on how fast the real-world asset pipeline actually fills up.
