Standard Chartered Bank: It is expected that by the end of 2028, the scale of on-chain tokenized assets will reach $4 trillion, with DeFi protocols being the biggest beneficiaries

By: rootdata|2026/05/20 04:45:02

According to The Block, Geoffrey Kendrick, the global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank, stated that the total scale of on-chain tokenized assets is expected to reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028, with stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA) each accounting for $2 trillion. Standard Chartered believes that DeFi protocols with mature risk control systems and scalability will be the main beneficiaries of this trend, while the advancement of the U.S. Clarity Act may become an important catalyst for accelerating the on-chain transition of traditional finance.

Kendrick pointed out that the core advantage of DeFi lies in "composability." In an on-chain environment, the same asset can simultaneously earn yields, serve as collateral, and maintain liquidity, which the traditional financial system cannot achieve with similar efficiency. He stated that this structural advantage means "1+1=3." Standard Chartered cited BlackRock's tokenized U.S. Treasury fund BUIDL as an example, noting that the product not only yields about 4% from U.S. Treasuries but can also be converted into sBUIDL for use in lending protocol collateral and serves as a reserve asset for products like Ethena USDtb and Ondo OUSG.

The report also noted that the current scale of off-chain assets is still about 1,000 times that of on-chain assets, and the tokenization of institutional-grade assets may become the core source of growth for the next phase of the industry. Regarding institutional adoption, Standard Chartered mentioned that Aave's asset scale once matched that of the 38th largest bank in the U.S., and the current daily trading volume of on-chain stablecoin lending has reached $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

At the same time, the Bitcoin lending product developed in collaboration between Coinbase and Morpho currently has a loan scale of about $1.75 billion, covering approximately 22,000 borrowers, indicating that traditional financial institutions are gradually using DeFi as underlying infrastructure.

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