Wall Street giants rush to seize the "on-chain financial ecosystem," ushering in the $18 trillion RWA tokenization race.

Statistics show that global traditional financial giants, including Wall Street giants like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, completed a staggering 345 blockchain-related investments between 2020 and 2024. Among them, G-SIBs (global systemically important banks with significant influence in the global financial system) led over 100 major transactions in tokenization, cryptocurrency financial product custody, and blockchain payments.

According to a recent cryptocurrency research report jointly released by Ripple, CB Insights, and the UK Blockchain Technology Center, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Japanese financial giant SBI Group have become the most active traditional financial sector players in supporting blockchain startups. According to forecasts from Ripple and the Boston Consulting Group, the scale of tokenized real-world assets (centered on RWAs) is expected to exceed $18 trillion by 2033, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53% from 2025 onward.

The report states that between 2020 and 2024, traditional banks worldwide participated in 345 investments in blockchain companies, most of which were in the early stages of financing. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs each led the way among traditional financial giants, with 18 major deals, followed by JPMorgan Chase and Mitsubishi UFJ, each completing 15 major investments.

It is understood that "mega-blockchain financings" valued at $100 million or more are a focus of market attention. Over the past four years, these traditional banking giants have participated in 33 such rounds, investing funds in blockchain-related startups focused on cryptocurrency trading infrastructure, tokenized finance, custody, and payment solutions.

Notable cases include Brazil's CloudWalk, which raised over $750 million in two rounds of funding from investors including Banco Itaú; and Germany's Solaris, which received a substantial investment of over $100 million from SBI Group and subsequently became the target of a controlling stake acquisition, providing the financial giant with a significant entry point into blockchain finance.

G-SIBs Contributed to Over 100 Blockchain-Related Financing Transactions

Global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) have attracted significant market attention due to their enormous size and potential for collapse, potentially triggering global financial turmoil. A research report shows that G-SIBs completed a total of 106 transactions, 14 of which were large-scale blockchain financing transactions exceeding $100 million each.

In terms of transaction volume, financial institutions in the United States and Japan lead the way, with financial giants in Singapore, France, and the United Kingdom also active. Overall, global blockchain startups will complete over 10,000 financing transactions between 2020 and 2024, exceeding the $100 billion mark.

A Ripple survey of over 1,800 global financial leaders also revealed that 90% of respondents believe blockchain and digital, tokenized assets will have a "significant or significant" impact on the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries within three years.

This momentum is also significantly supported by positive regulatory developments, including the US GENIUS Act and the EU MiCA, both of which provide clearer regulatory and financial support frameworks for digital asset operations.

Traditional Banks Bet on Stablecoins; Tokenization is the Next Stop

The unprecedented investment boom in blockchain-based companies is driven by surging demand for stablecoin transactions and real-world blockchain applications. A Citi report indicates that monthly stablecoin trading volume reached $650-700 billion in the first quarter of 2025, and a growing number of traditional commercial banks plan to issue their own stablecoins to provide programmable currency that mitigates volatility risk.

Stablecoins are a special type of cryptocurrency that maintains a stable value ratio by being pegged to core reserve assets such as the US dollar, euro, and gold. As key legislation establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins accelerates through the US Congress, these price-stable cryptocurrencies are entering the mainstream asset class of global financial markets. Stablecoins are essentially "dollars on a blockchain," backed 1:1 by highly liquid dollar assets (cash and short-term U.S. Treasury bonds). Combining the dollar with the blockchain, stablecoins offer a new, stable and efficient payment method, allowing the capital market to see the commercial potential of "digital dollarization." High interest rates and rising interest rates undoubtedly allow these reserves to earn substantial interest, generating near-bank-level profits for stablecoin issuers (such as Circle and Tether) while also providing "quasi-currency fund" returns.

Looking ahead to the future of digitalization and tokenization, tokenization is considered a defining trend. Research released by Boston Consulting Group and Ripple indicates that the value of tokenized real-world assets could exceed $18 trillion by 2033, representing a projected compound annual growth rate of 53% from 2025, as predicted by these two leading research institutions. The so-called "tokenization" concept centers around RWAs (Real-World Assets)—traditional financial/physical assets with measurable value, such as government bonds, loans, fund shares, real estate, accounts receivable, and carbon credits, that are placed on-chain. This refers to any measurable value originally existing in the traditional financial system or the real economy being mapped into a programmable, transferable digital token on-chain. Since the beginning of this year, stablecoins have successfully proven themselves as on-chain payment pathways. The aforementioned research report indicates that monthly stablecoin settlement volume has reached $650-700 billion. Even traditional banking giants are planning to issue their own stablecoins.

For banks, RWAs, compared to "pure crypto" assets, are backed by physical or legal rights, making them easier to incorporate into existing financial regulatory frameworks. Furthermore, the cash flows of underlying assets like bonds and loans can provide a stable source of investment returns for on-chain financial products, perfectly suiting the banking business model. Most studies describe the RWA concept as "representing ownership of tangible or off-chain assets on a blockchain through tokens issued by smart contracts." The World Economic Forum notes that tokenization allows these assets to have a unified shared ledger, real-time settlement, and programmable properties, thereby reducing delivery risk and improving efficiency. For traditional banking giants, the RWA tokenization trend, following the example of stablecoins, can significantly expand revenue sources while further exploring the efficiency benefits of blockchain within a regulatory framework.