Standard Chartered has predicted that assets locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) could reach $2.7 trillion by 2030, a roughly tenfold increase from today's levels. The British multinational bank points to tokenization of real-world assets and continued growth in crypto-native protocols as the two engines that will push total value locked (TVL) into the trillions over the next four years.
Why the bank sees a 10x jump
The forecast, published this week, rests on two pillars. First, tokenization — the process of putting traditional assets like bonds, real estate, and commodities on blockchain rails — is expected to accelerate as major financial institutions move past pilot projects into production. Standard Chartered itself has been active in this space, with its SC Ventures unit working on tokenized bond issuance and digital asset custody.
Second, the bank expects crypto-native DeFi to keep growing. Lending, borrowing, and trading on decentralized exchanges have already survived multiple market cycles, and the infrastructure is maturing. The prediction assumes that regulatory clarity improves in key jurisdictions, allowing DeFi protocols to serve a broader user base without the constant threat of enforcement actions.
What $2.7 trillion would mean
If realized, that figure would dwarf the current DeFi TVL, which sits around $270 billion as of mid-2026. It would also represent a significant share of the global financial system's on-chain activity. For context, the entire crypto market cap is roughly $3.5 trillion today, so a $2.7 trillion DeFi sector would mean that a large portion of crypto value is actually being put to work in protocols rather than sitting idle.
The timing of the prediction is notable. DeFi has been through a rough patch — hacks, regulatory crackdowns, and the collapse of several high-profile projects in 2022-2023 shook confidence. But the sector has been rebuilding quietly. Total value locked has more than doubled since early 2025, and institutional interest is picking up.
Tokenization as the wild card
Standard Chartered's forecast leans heavily on tokenization, which is still a nascent market. While BlackRock, JPMorgan, and others have launched tokenized funds, the volume remains small relative to traditional finance. The bank's analysts argue that the infrastructure is now ready to scale, and that regulatory frameworks like the EU's MiCA and Singapore's stablecoin rules will provide the legal certainty needed for large-scale adoption.
But not everyone is convinced. Some critics say the $2.7 trillion number is too optimistic, pointing to the slow pace of institutional onboarding and the technical challenges of interoperability between blockchains. The bank acknowledges the risks but maintains that the trend is clear: assets are moving on-chain, and DeFi will be the primary venue for managing them.
What happens next
Standard Chartered's report doesn't set a specific timeline for when the $2.7 trillion milestone might be hit within 2030, but it suggests that the growth will be nonlinear — with tokenization accelerating sharply after 2027. The bank plans to release more detailed sector-by-sector projections later this year.
For now, the prediction adds to a growing chorus of institutional forecasts that see DeFi as a core part of the financial system, not a niche experiment. Whether the industry can deliver on that promise will depend on execution, regulation, and a bit of luck.
