The Future of Funds is On-Chain: Equitize Tokenization Report 2025
The Equitize Tokenization Report 2025, developed in collaboration with Drew & Napier and with inputs from the Solana Foundation, projects that global tokenized assets could surpass US $2 trillion by 2030, with funds at the center of this transformation. The report explores the critical enablers driving this momentum — from regulatory clarity and blockchain infrastructure readiness to liquidity pathways and investor demand.
The findings confirm that tokenization has moved well beyond the realm of pilots. Today, more than $6 billion in tokenized funds are live, supported by expanding regulatory sandboxes across Asia and digital-native benchmarks like BlackRock’s $2.45B BUIDL fund. The direction of travel is unmistakable: tokenization is no longer experimental; it is rapidly becoming institutional.
This evolution is also aligned with the broader push to modernize financial markets. Initiatives such as Singapore’s Project Guardian, the EU’s DLT pilot regime, and frameworks emerging in Hong Kong and the UAE underscore that regulators are no longer on the sidelines. As compliance frameworks, liquidity infrastructure, and blockchain interoperability converge, tokenized funds are emerging as the most practical and scalable use case in institutional finance.
From Pilots to Market Momentum
What began as limited experiments in real estate and private equity has matured into mainstream adoption across fixed income and fund structures. The advantages of tokenization are no longer theoretical. By moving operations on-chain, funds achieve efficiency through instant settlement, transparency through real-time registries and compliance visibility, and programmability through automated servicing and liquidity management.
The earliest adopters have focused on treasuries and money market funds, where scale, standardization, and low friction provide a clear return on investment. More complex asset classes are expected to follow as institutional trust and infrastructure capabilities deepen.
Why Funds Are Leading the Charge
Investment funds are uniquely suited to spearhead tokenization. They already operate within robust regulatory frameworks, attract steady investor demand, and yet remain constrained by outdated inefficiencies such as T+1 settlement cycles and manual transfer agency processes. Tokenization directly addresses these challenges by embedding compliance, onboarding, and transferability into smart contracts.
The impact is already visible in the market. As of April 2025, more than $6 billion has been deployed into tokenized funds. Franklin Templeton’s BENJI fund has scaled from just $1 million to over $700 million, while BlackRock’s BUIDL fund has grown to $2.45 billion, establishing a new benchmark for digital-native issuance.
Regulation Steps In
Crucially, regulators are not lagging behind this transformation. Market adoption is being matched by regulatory clarity across key jurisdictions.
Singapore’s Project Guardian, operating under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), is piloting tokenized funds and wealth products. Meanwhile, frameworks in Hong Kong, the UAE, the European Union, and Thailand are creating an increasingly harmonized regulatory environment.
This regulatory engagement sends a strong message: tokenized finance is no longer confined to experimental sandboxes. It is entering the mainstream of capital markets.
Tokenized Funds: Smarter, Faster, Borderless
Tokenized funds are not just traditional structures replicated on-chain; they represent a fundamentally new model of asset management. By leveraging smart contracts, they eliminate many intermediaries and enable instant issuance, automated compliance, continuous secondary transfers, and global investor access.
These capabilities are already live. From subscription to redemption, tokenized workflows are demonstrating how costs, friction, and time can be dramatically reduced, while accessibility and transparency increase.
Three Models of Adoption
Fund managers are approaching tokenization along three distinct paths. The Books & Records model uses blockchain primarily as an internal ledger, offering incremental efficiency. The Digital Twin approach links tokenized feeders to traditional funds, providing a bridge between legacy structures and digital-native investors. Finally, the Digital Native model creates funds that are issued, managed, and operated entirely on-chain, delivering full programmability and long-term efficiency.
Case studies such as BlackRock’s BUIDL fund (digital native) and Apollo’s Diversified Credit Fund (a digital hybrid) showcase how leading managers are testing and scaling across this spectrum.
Technology Readiness
Scaling tokenized funds requires blockchain infrastructure that meets institutional standards. That means robust ecosystems of stablecoins, custody, and DeFi rails; transparent and verifiable NAVs and ownership records; and the reliability of high uptime, finality, and token standards that can withstand regulatory scrutiny.
Networks such as Ethereum, Solana, and emerging layer-1 platforms are competing to provide this backbone for tokenized finance, and each is investing heavily in infrastructure to meet institutional requirements.
What Comes Next
The evolution from digital replicas of traditional funds to fully digital-native funds marks a turning point for asset management. With liquidity rails provided by Equitize, legal clarity from partners like Drew & Napier, and infrastructure support from the Solana Foundation, the foundation for institutional-scale adoption is already in place.
The future of asset management is not about simply wrapping yesterday’s funds on-chain. It is about redesigning the fund model for a digital-first financial system.
👉 Download the full Equitize Tokenization Report 2025 to explore adoption models, regulatory pathways, and case studies shaping the next generation of funds.