The Rise of Tokenization: Crypto's Next Big Infrastructure Wave in 2026

The financial world is on the cusp of a seismic shift. In 2026, tokenization-the process of converting real-world assets into digital tokens on a blockchain-will no longer be a niche experiment but a foundational infrastructure layer for global finance. This transformation is being driven by two forces: regulatory clarity and institutional adoption.

Regulatory Clarity: The CLARITY Act as a Catalyst

The U.S. Congress's passage of the CLARITY Act of 2025 (H.R. 3633) has been a watershed moment. By assigning the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) exclusive jurisdiction over digital commodity spot markets while preserving the SEC's oversight of investment contracts, the Act has eliminated much of the regulatory ambiguity that stifled innovation. For example, the Senate Agriculture Committee's bipartisan discussion draft expanded the CFTC's authority to define digital commodities as "fungible digital assets" transferable without intermediaries, a critical step for tokenizing assets like real estate, art, and even government bonds.

This clarity is already paying dividends. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) recently announced the tokenization of U.S. Treasury securities on the Canton Network, a privacy-enabled blockchain designed for regulated markets. Such projects thrive in an environment where institutions can transact on-chain without fear of conflicting regulations. As the CFTC issues further guidance on tokenized collateral and the SEC refines its digital asset classification, the stage is set for a unified framework that bridges traditional finance and blockchain.

Institutional Adoption: Wall Street's On-Chain Gambit

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has emerged as a poster child for institutional tokenization. Its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), approved by the SEC in 2025, is not just a Bitcoin ETF but a harbinger of broader ambitions. CEO Larry Fink declared, "If we can 'ETF' a Bitcoin, imagine what we can do with all financial instruments," signaling a strategy to tokenize everything from equities to real estate. This move has already spurred competitors like Fidelity and Robinhood to accelerate their own tokenization roadmaps.

The DTCC's Treasury tokenization project underscores the scale of this shift. By leveraging the Canton Network's permissioned blockchain, institutions can settle trades in seconds rather than days, slashing costs and counterparty risk. This is not speculative futurism-it's a practical upgrade to the plumbing of global finance.

Bitcoin's blockchain network provides the backbone for this revolution. As

this article describes, the transition from traditional finance to tokenized systems is already underway.

The Ecosystem of Innovation: a16z, Bitwise, and David Hoffman

The tokenization wave is being amplified by a new generation of thinkers and builders. a16z, the venture capital giant, has positioned tokenization as a 2025-2026 megatrend, predicting that AI agents will soon custody crypto wallets and autonomously trade tokenized assets. Eddy Lazzarin, a16z's crypto partner, emphasizes the need for "proof of personhood" protocols to ensure trust in AI-driven markets-a challenge that tokenization can solve through verifiable digital identities.

Meanwhile, David Hoffman, co-founder of Bankless, has framed tokenization as a tool to democratize access to capital. In 2025, he highlighted how institutions are tokenizing private company shares and real estate, enabling fractional ownership and 24/7 liquidity. His insights, shared through the Bankless Podcast and industry panels, have helped normalize the idea that tokenization isn't just for crypto natives but for anyone seeking efficiency.

Bitwise Asset Management has also played a pivotal role. Alison Davis, an advisor to the firm, has championed tokenization as a way to bridge the gap between traditional and digital assets. Bitwise's Q3 2025 market review noted that institutional demand for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) grew 300% year-over-year, driven by BlackRock's IBIT and the CLARITY Act's regulatory tailwinds.

Why This Matters for Investors

For forward-thinking investors, tokenization represents a strategic inflection point. The convergence of regulatory clarity and institutional adoption means that tokenized assets-whether RWAs, stablecoins, or AI-driven DACs (Decentralized Autonomous Chatbots)-are no longer speculative. They are infrastructure.

Consider the U.K.'s exploration of tokenized government bonds or the rise of DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks), where AI agents manage blockchain-based infrastructure. These are not isolated experiments but part of a broader trend toward on-chain financial systems.

Conclusion: The Infrastructure Wave of 2026

By 2026, tokenization will be as integral to finance as the internet is to communication. The CLARITY Act has provided the legal scaffolding; BlackRock and DTCC have proven the technical viability; and a16z, Hoffman, and Bitwise have mapped the ecosystem's potential. For investors, the question is no longer if to bet on tokenization-but how to position early enough.

The next big infrastructure wave is here.