BlackRock, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton — the world's largest financial institutions are not watching from the sidelines. They are building, launching, and investing in tokenized asset infrastructure right now.
Institutions active in tokenized asset markets
BlackRock — $10B+ BUIDL Fund
JPMorgan — Onyx / JPM Coin
Goldman Sachs — GS DAP
Franklin Templeton — BENJI Fund
Fidelity — Digital Assets
Deutsche Bank — DWS
BNY Mellon — Digital Custody
Citigroup — Citi Token Services
HSBC — Tokenized Gold
Société Générale — FORGE
Hamilton Lane — Tokenized Funds
KKR — Tokenized PE
Apollo — Tokenized Credit
Singapore GIC — Tokenized Assets
Abu Dhabi SWF — Digital Assets
BlackRock — $10B+ BUIDL Fund
JPMorgan — Onyx / JPM Coin
Goldman Sachs — GS DAP
Franklin Templeton — BENJI Fund
Fidelity — Digital Assets
Deutsche Bank — DWS
BNY Mellon — Digital Custody
Citigroup — Citi Token Services
HSBC — Tokenized Gold
Société Générale — FORGE
Hamilton Lane — Tokenized Funds
KKR — Tokenized PE
Apollo — Tokenized Credit
Singapore GIC — Tokenized Assets
Abu Dhabi SWF — Digital Assets
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What You Will Learn
Which major institutions are actively building and deploying tokenized asset infrastructure
What global banks, asset managers, PE firms, custodians, and sovereign wealth funds are doing
The three phases of institutional adoption and where the market stands today
The six economic drivers pulling institutions into tokenized assets
The remaining barriers and how each is being resolved
Advanced25 min readLesson 14 of 14
01 · The Signal
When the World's Largest Asset Managers Move, It Is Not Hype
Skepticism about tokenization has always rested on a simple question: if this is such a good idea, why aren't the big players doing it? The answer, increasingly, is that they are. Not experimenting. Not piloting. Actually deploying capital, building infrastructure, and launching regulated products that real institutional investors are buying.
BlackRock's tokenized Treasury fund — BUIDL — crossed $1 billion in assets under management faster than any ETF in history. Franklin Templeton's BENJI fund put US government securities on a public blockchain years before most firms had even started their internal working groups. JPMorgan has processed trillions of dollars in intraday repo transactions using its own blockchain infrastructure.
"The institutional participation in tokenized assets is no longer a question of 'if' or 'when.' It is happening at scale, right now, led by the names that define global capital markets. The question for every asset owner and investor is: what is your strategy for participating in this shift?"
This lesson documents who is already in, what they are building, what is driving the adoption, and what barriers remain — so you can evaluate the market with accuracy rather than speculation.
02 · Who Is Active
Institutional Activity by Category
Institutional adoption spans every category of financial institution — global banks, asset managers, private equity firms, custodians, and sovereign wealth funds. Here is what each category is building.
JPMorgan Chase
Global Bank
The most advanced bank in tokenized asset infrastructure. JPMorgan's Onyx division operates the blockchain-based JPM Coin for institutional wholesale payments, the Tokenized Collateral Network (TCN) for on-chain collateral management, and has processed trillions in intraday repo. Project Guardian participant.
Key Initiative
Tokenized Collateral Network: moved $1T+ in collateral using blockchain, settling tokenized repo transactions in real time rather than T+2. BlackRock and Barclays among first clients.
Goldman Sachs
Global Bank
Goldman's Digital Asset Platform (GS DAP) is a permissioned blockchain infrastructure for tokenizing financial instruments. Goldman has issued digital bonds on the platform and used it for European Investment Bank transactions. Their Digital Assets team actively advises clients on token offering structures.
Key Initiative
European Investment Bank €100M digital bond issued on GS DAP — one of the first institutional-grade tokenized bonds to settle natively on blockchain infrastructure built by a major investment bank.
Citigroup
Global Bank
Citi Token Services launched in 2023 — a blockchain-based solution for cross-border payments, trade finance, and liquidity management. Citi processes tokenized deposits for institutional clients and has integrated with Swift for cross-chain interoperability. Citi predicts $4–5 trillion in tokenized assets by 2030.
Key Initiative
Citi Token Services for Trade: digitizes trade finance documentation and payments, enabling 24/7 instant cross-border transactions that previously took days through correspondent banking networks.
HSBC
Global Bank
HSBC launched tokenized gold through its Orion digital assets platform — offering institutional clients exposure to allocated gold held in HSBC's London vault, represented as blockchain tokens. Also active in tokenized bonds and deposit tokens for cross-border payments.
Key Initiative
HSBC Gold Token: physical gold held in HSBC's London vault tokenized and offered to retail investors in Hong Kong — a landmark "real-world asset to retail investor" tokenization from a major bank.
Société Générale
Global Bank
SocGen's FORGE subsidiary is a licensed digital asset service provider offering security token issuance, custody, and trading infrastructure. Has issued covered bonds as security tokens on Ethereum, received a MiCA license in France, and issued the first digital bond repurchased with a stablecoin.
Key Initiative
FORGE MiCA license: one of the first banks to obtain a full MiCA license for digital asset services — positioning SocGen as a regulated gateway for European institutional tokenized asset participation.
Deutsche Bank / DWS
Global Bank / Asset Manager
Deutsche Bank is building digital asset custody infrastructure and participates in Project Guardian. Its asset management arm DWS is a co-founder of AllUnity — a regulated euro stablecoin initiative — and is exploring tokenized fund structures for European institutional distribution.
Key Initiative
AllUnity: DWS-led euro stablecoin joint venture with Galaxy Digital and Flow Traders — building regulated on-chain euro liquidity infrastructure for tokenized asset settlement in Europe.
BlackRock
Asset Manager — $10T+ AUM
BlackRock's BUIDL (BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund) — launched March 2024 on Ethereum via Securitize — is the defining proof point for institutional tokenization. It crossed $1B in AUM in weeks, making it the fastest-growing tokenized Treasury product ever. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink called tokenization "the next generation for markets."
Key Initiative
BUIDL Fund: tokenized US Treasury and repo fund on Ethereum — accredited investors receive daily yield distributions as token dividends. Represents BlackRock's conviction that blockchain rails are the future of fund distribution infrastructure.
Franklin Templeton
Asset Manager — $1.5T+ AUM
One of the earliest movers — Franklin Templeton launched the BENJI Fund (Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund) on the Stellar blockchain in 2021, before most institutions had internal digital asset teams. The fund expanded to Polygon and Ethereum. Franklin has been consistently ahead of peers on blockchain-native fund infrastructure.
Key Initiative
BENJI Fund: the first US-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain for transaction processing and share ownership recording. Each share is represented as a token — the blockchain IS the transfer agent.
Fidelity Investments
Asset Manager — $4.5T+ AUM
Fidelity Digital Assets provides institutional custody and trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum and has filed for multiple tokenized fund products. Fidelity has been building internal blockchain infrastructure since 2014 — longer than most. Its Fidelity Crypto subsidiary launched retail digital asset services in 2022.
Key Initiative
Fidelity Digital Assets: institutional-grade custody and execution for digital assets, serving hedge funds, family offices, and pension funds. One of the most trusted custody brands in the market.
Hamilton Lane
Private Markets — $920B+ AUM
Hamilton Lane has been one of the most vocal advocates for tokenizing private market funds. Multiple tokenized feeder funds launched in partnership with Securitize and ADDX — dramatically lowering minimums from $5M+ to $20K and expanding the investor base for institutional private equity fund access.
Key Initiative
Tokenized senior credit fund via Securitize: minimum investment reduced from $125,000 to $20,000 — a 6x reduction in the access bar. Opened private credit to a dramatically broader pool of accredited investors.
KKR
Private Equity — $500B+ AUM
KKR partnered with Securitize to tokenize a feeder fund into its Health Care Strategic Growth Fund II — one of the first major PE firms to tokenize direct exposure to an active fund. Accessed a new category of wealth management clients through Securitize's platform without disrupting existing fund operations.
Key Initiative
Tokenized healthcare PE fund: accredited investors gained access to a KKR-managed healthcare fund at dramatically lower minimums — previously only accessible to institutional LPs with $1M+ tickets.
Apollo Global Management
Private Equity / Credit — $650B+ AUM
Apollo has launched tokenized credit funds and is actively building blockchain-native distribution infrastructure for its private credit strategies. Apollo co-founded Provenance Blockchain Foundation and has participated in multiple on-chain credit securitization pilots through Project Guardian.
Key Initiative
Project Guardian credit fund tokenization: Apollo participated in MAS-supervised pilot to tokenize private credit fund interests — testing real-money institutional transactions on public blockchain infrastructure under regulatory supervision.
Carlyle Group
Private Equity — $420B+ AUM
Carlyle partnered with Securitize for a tokenized fund structure, joining the growing group of major PE firms that see tokenization as a distribution channel for accessing wealth management capital at lower ticket sizes than traditional institutional LP relationships.
Key Initiative
Tokenized private equity access: Carlyle's tokenized feeder fund structure enables wealth management platforms to offer clients fractional exposure to Carlyle's flagship buyout strategies.
Ares Management
Alternative Credit — $420B+ AUM
Ares has tokenized portions of its credit fund strategies, targeting the wealth management channel. As one of the world's largest alternative credit managers, Ares's participation signals that tokenization is becoming standard distribution practice for alternative asset firms seeking to access high-net-worth and family office capital.
Key Initiative
Tokenized credit fund distribution: Ares leverages tokenization platforms to distribute alternative credit strategies to RIAs and wealth managers at investment minimums compatible with high-net-worth portfolios.
BNY Mellon
Custodian / Asset Servicer
BNY Mellon — the world's largest custodian with $46T in assets under custody — launched digital asset custody in 2022. BNY holds Bitcoin and Ethereum for select institutional clients and is building blockchain-native fund administration infrastructure. Its involvement validates custody infrastructure as institutional-grade.
Key Initiative
Digital Asset Custody: BNY Mellon became the first US major bank to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum custody to select institutional clients — a landmark that signaled custodians are ready to service the full tokenized asset lifecycle.
Securitize
Tokenization Platform / Transfer Agent
The leading regulated tokenization platform in the US — SEC-registered transfer agent, FINRA-registered broker-dealer, and ATS operator. BlackRock, KKR, Hamilton Lane, Apollo, and Carlyle have all used Securitize to tokenize fund products. Raised $47M Series C from BlackRock in 2024.
Key Initiative
BlackRock BUIDL partnership: Securitize serves as transfer agent, placement agent, and tokenization infrastructure for the BUIDL fund — cementing its position as the de facto institutional standard for regulated tokenization.
Swift
Financial Messaging Infrastructure
Swift — the backbone of global interbank communication — has run extensive tokenized asset interoperability experiments, connecting 18 financial institutions in a pilot to transfer tokenized assets across different blockchain networks. Swift's participation signals that existing financial infrastructure is being rebuilt for a tokenized world.
Key Initiative
Cross-chain tokenized asset transfer pilot: Swift connected tokenized assets across Ethereum, Stellar, and DTCC's Canton Network — demonstrating that the global financial messaging network can bridge the fragmented blockchain ecosystem.
DTCC
Market Infrastructure / Settlement
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation — which settles virtually all US equity trades — has launched Project Whitney for tokenized fund distribution and is developing the Canton Network, a privacy-enabled blockchain connecting financial institutions for tokenized asset settlement.
Key Initiative
Canton Network: blockchain platform connecting Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon, Broadridge, and 20+ financial institutions for tokenized asset transactions — built with privacy controls for shared-ledger settlement.
Hong Kong SAR Government
Sovereign Issuer
Hong Kong has issued multiple tranches of tokenized green bonds — HK$800M in 2023 and subsequent issuances — establishing the government as an active tokenized security issuer. The bonds settled on blockchain with Goldman Sachs as bookrunner.
Key Initiative
Tokenized Green Bond: HK$800M sovereign green bond issued on blockchain — first government bond globally to use tokenization for primary issuance, settlement, and lifecycle management.
Singapore GIC & Temasek
Sovereign Wealth Fund
Singapore's sovereign wealth funds have been active participants in Project Guardian — MAS's institutional DeFi pilot — testing tokenized asset transactions with live capital. GIC has made direct investments in tokenization infrastructure companies.
Key Initiative
Project Guardian participation: GIC engaged in live tokenized foreign exchange and government bond transactions in a supervised regulatory environment — demonstrating SWF-grade institutional confidence.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Sovereign Wealth Fund — $790B+ AUM
ADIA — one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds — has allocated to digital asset infrastructure and tokenized asset managers. Abu Dhabi's regulatory framework (ADGM) has been specifically designed to attract tokenized asset issuers.
Key Initiative
Digital asset infrastructure investment: ADIA has allocated to blockchain infrastructure companies and tokenized asset platforms — positioning as both an investor in and user of the infrastructure being built.
European Investment Bank
Multilateral Development Bank
The EIB has issued multiple digital bond tranches on blockchain — including a €100M bond on Goldman Sachs's GS DAP and a €50M bond on Banque de France's wholesale CBDC infrastructure. As a AAA-rated multilateral, EIB participation gives tokenized bonds the highest-quality institutional endorsement.
Key Initiative
Digital bonds on multiple platforms: EIB has issued tokenized bonds across Goldman Sachs, Banque de France, and HSBC infrastructure — deliberately testing multiple platforms to evaluate the technology.
$1B+
BlackRock BUIDL fund AUM — reached in weeks, faster than any ETF in history
$1T+
Value of collateral moved through JPMorgan's Tokenized Collateral Network since launch
$16T
Projected value of tokenized assets by 2030 — driven by institutional adoption across every asset class
$47M
BlackRock's investment in Securitize — the clearest institutional endorsement of tokenization infrastructure to date
03 · The Arc of Adoption
Three Phases of Institutional Tokenization
Institutional adoption of tokenized assets is moving through a recognizable pattern. Understanding where the market sits today — and what comes next — helps issuers and investors position ahead of the curve rather than chasing it.
01
✓ Complete — 2018–2022
Proof of Concept
Early pilots, internal blockchain teams, regulatory engagement. Institutions proved the technology worked and learned what compliance required. Most activity was experimental — real money deployed, but at small scale with high tolerance for friction.
→ JPMorgan builds Quorum / Onyx
→ Franklin Templeton launches BENJI
→ EIB issues first digital bond
→ SocGen FORGE established
02
▶ Active Now — 2023–2026
Scaled Deployment
Real products with real AUM. Institutional investors buying tokenized assets at scale. Regulatory clarity emerging. Infrastructure standardizing. Competition driving speed and quality up. This is the phase we are in — the transition from pilot to production.
→ BlackRock BUIDL crosses $1B
→ KKR, Apollo tokenize PE funds
→ DTCC Canton Network launches
→ MiCA enables EU-wide products
03
◎ Coming — 2026–2030
Market Standard
Tokenization becomes the default issuance and settlement infrastructure — not the innovative alternative. Traditional paper-based instruments are the exception. ATS secondary markets achieve equity-market liquidity for private assets. Retail investors access institutional strategies at scale.
→ Tokenized T-bills displace money market funds
→ All new bond issuance on-chain
→ Real estate tokenization mainstream
→ $16T tokenized asset market
04 · The Drivers
What Is Pulling Institutions Into Tokenized Assets
Institutional adoption is not being driven by enthusiasm for technology. It is being driven by concrete economic advantages that tokenization delivers over traditional infrastructure — advantages that compound at the scale institutions operate.
Settlement Efficiency
T+2 settlement locks up enormous capital across the financial system. BlackRock has estimated that tokenized, atomic settlement could free up trillions in collateral globally. Even a 10 basis point improvement in capital efficiency at JPMorgan's scale is worth billions annually.
Distribution Economics
Tokenization allows KKR and Hamilton Lane to reach wealth management clients with $20K minimums instead of $5M+ — massively expanding their addressable market without changing the underlying fund strategy. The distribution cost per dollar raised drops dramatically.
Operational Cost Reduction
Smart contracts replace transfer agents, paying agents, and large portions of fund administration. For a firm running hundreds of funds, the savings from automated cap tables, instant distributions, and on-chain reporting compound to material cost reductions at scale.
Regulatory Clarity
MiCA in the EU, FIT21 progress in the US, and the UK's FSMA 2023 have dramatically reduced regulatory uncertainty for institutional participants. Compliance teams that previously blocked digital asset projects now have frameworks to work within — removing the key institutional veto.
Competitive Pressure
Once BlackRock launched BUIDL, every other major asset manager faced a strategic question: build a competing product or cede the tokenized fund market to BlackRock and Franklin Templeton. Competitive pressure is now one of the primary accelerants of institutional adoption.
24/7 Global Markets
Traditional markets close. Blockchain does not. Institutions with global operations benefit from around-the-clock settlement capability, collateral mobility across time zones, and the elimination of weekend settlement risk — all enabled by blockchain infrastructure.
05 · What Still Stands in the Way
The Barriers That Remain — And How They Are Being Resolved
Barrier 1
Interoperability
Tokenized assets on Ethereum cannot natively interact with assets on Avalanche, Stellar, or a private bank blockchain. This fragmentation limits liquidity and creates settlement complexity across multi-chain portfolios.
Being resolved: Swift cross-chain pilots, Canton Network, and CCIP bridge infrastructure are connecting chains. Industry standards (ERC-3643, ERC-1400) are converging.
Barrier 2
Custody Complexity
Institutional-grade custody for tokenized securities requires QSBS-safe, bankruptcy-remote custody solutions that satisfy fiduciary obligations. Early solutions were inadequate for institutional use.
Being resolved: BNY Mellon, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Anchorage Digital now offer institutional-grade qualified custody. Regulatory clarity from OCC on bank custody has accelerated adoption.
Barrier 3
Accounting & Tax Treatment
Ambiguity in how tokenized assets are recorded on balance sheets, valued for mark-to-market purposes, and treated for tax creates compliance complexity for institutional adopters with strict accounting standards (GAAP, IFRS).
Being resolved: FASB issued digital asset accounting guidance in 2023 (fair value measurement). IRS Notice 2023-34 addressed certain token transactions. Accounting standards are catching up to market practice.
Barrier 4
Liquidity Depth
Secondary market liquidity for most tokenized assets remains thin. An institution that needs to exit a $50M position cannot do so without significant market impact. Liquidity improves with adoption — but it is a chicken-and-egg problem.
Being resolved: As more institutions participate and more assets are tokenized, ATS liquidity deepens. BUIDL's integration with Circle's USDC creates instant liquidity for redemptions — a model others are replicating.
Barrier 5
Legal Enforceability
In some jurisdictions, the legal status of token ownership — whether a token holder has enforceable rights against the underlying asset — remains unsettled. Insolvency proceedings in particular have not been fully tested with tokenized structures.
Being resolved: Switzerland's DLT Act, UK Law Commission property rights ruling, and US UCC Article 12 amendments all establish legal frameworks for digital asset rights.
Barrier 6
Internal Culture & Legacy Systems
Large institutions have decades of operational infrastructure built for paper-based settlement. Integrating blockchain with core banking systems, risk frameworks, and operational procedures requires significant internal change management.
Being resolved: As more firms successfully deploy, internal case studies build confidence. Vendors are building integration layers that connect blockchain infrastructure to legacy core banking and middle office systems.
The Institutions Are In. Are You?
Prime Ledger builds the tokenization infrastructure that connects asset owners and issuers to the same institutional capital markets that BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs are already using — on an open platform, with full regulatory compliance, designed for the next decade of finance.
