Author: Martin Young, CoinTelegraph; Translated by: Wuzhu, Jinse Finance

According to several new research papers from major traditional financial institutions, tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) is expected to see explosive growth in the next five years, with managed assets potentially exceeding $600 billion by 2030.

Global consulting firm Boston Consulting Group referred to RWA tokenization as the "third revolution in asset management" in a paper published on October 29.

David Chan, Managing Director and Partner at BCG, stated: "We see a growing demand from investors for the tokenized fund space."

The paper, co-authored by Aptos Labs and Invesco, predicts that within just seven years, asset management of tokenized funds will reach 1% of the global mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) asset management scale.

Researchers point out: "This means that by 2030, the size of asset management will exceed $600 billion."

Reports suggest that by 2030, the industry's growth rate could be as high as 50 times.

Chan added: "We expect this trend to continue for some time, especially when regulated on-chain currencies (such as regulated stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects) become a reality."

Development of tokenized real-world financial assets. Source: BCG

Furthermore, according to another paper by State Street Global Advisors, the large-scale adoption of tokenized real-world assets is expected to be dominated by bonds, as the structural characteristics of bonds make them an ideal choice for blockchain issuance.

State Street researchers wrote in a report on capital market asset tokenization in October: "The timing for the adoption of the bond market is ripe."

Elliot Hentov, Head of Macro Policy Research, and Vladimir Gorshkov, Macro Policy Strategist, stated: "The complexity of these tools replicates the nature of issuance costs, and the fierce competition among intermediaries supports the rapid adoption pace and the potential for significant impact."

They added that blockchain technology can play a significant role in markets that "value transaction speed (such as repos and swaps)."

The report explains that bonds are essentially debt instruments with fixed maturity dates, characterized by three main features that make them very suitable for tokenization: recurring costs that can be reduced through tokenization, complexities that can be automated through smart contracts, and collateral that can facilitate use through on-chain transfers.

The bond market is where tokenization is already visible. Source: State Street

The report also noted that private equity funds show high potential for transformation, but the adoption potential for public stocks is lower due to the current system functioning well.

Researchers state that real estate and personal private equity tokenization face significant challenges, while commodities offer the potential for direct ownership but face regulatory constraints.

The Financial Stability Board also released a research paper on asset tokenization this month. It stated that the adoption rate of RWA tokenization is low but is growing, with most government debt being tokenized, followed by debt funds, payment tokens, and commodities equity.

The platform shared that the non-chain total value of RWA is $13.25 billion, growing 60% year-to-date.