Citi Forecasts Tokenized Securities Market Could Reach $5.5 Trillion by 2030

Key Highlights

• Citi projects the tokenized securities market will grow to $5.5 trillion by 2030 in its base case scenario
• The market is currently valued at roughly $17 billion, showing exponential growth expectations
• The bank’s bullish scenario places total adoption as high as $8.2 trillion
• Tokenization is expected to concentrate in public markets like stocks and U.S. Treasuries
• Stablecoins could drive major demand for on-chain Treasury bills and tokenized equities
• Large financial infrastructure players are already integrating tokenization into trading systems
• Citi sees tokenization as a long-term shift toward blockchain-based capital markets

Citi has issued a major long-term forecast suggesting that the tokenized securities market could expand dramatically over the next decade, reaching approximately $5.5 trillion by 2030 under its base case scenario. The projection highlights growing institutional confidence that blockchain infrastructure will increasingly underpin traditional financial markets.

According to Citi’s analysis, the current tokenized real-world asset market stands at around $17 billion, meaning the forecast implies multi-trillion-dollar expansion as financial institutions gradually integrate blockchain-based issuance, settlement, and trading systems. Depending on the pace of adoption, Citi also outlines a range between $2.7 trillion and $8.2 trillion.

The report suggests that the strongest early growth will come from mainstream financial instruments, particularly U.S. Treasuries and publicly traded equities. Citi expects these segments to dominate adoption because they are standardized, liquid, and already supported by established regulatory frameworks, making them easier to transition onto blockchain rails than more complex private market assets.

A key driver in Citi’s thesis is the expanding role of stablecoins and on-chain cash systems, which the bank believes could generate up to $1 trillion in demand for tokenized Treasury bills and around $2.6 trillion for tokenized stocks by 2030. This reflects a broader expectation that digital cash instruments will increasingly be used for instant settlement of tokenized assets.

The report also highlights growing involvement from major financial infrastructure providers, including exchanges and clearing institutions, which are beginning to embed tokenization into core trading systems. Citi argues that this signals a shift from experimental pilots toward structural integration within global capital markets.

Citi further notes that tokenization is likely to create a parallel financial system, where traditional and blockchain-based infrastructure operate side by side for an extended period. Over time, this dual structure could gradually evolve as adoption increases and settlement processes become increasingly digital and automated.

Overall, the forecast reinforces a broader industry narrative: tokenization is no longer viewed as a niche crypto use case, but as a potential foundational upgrade to how global securities markets are issued, traded, and settled over the coming decade.