Tokenization is being used more as a capital-raising tool than a liquidity play, according to a new survey from Brickken.
In a fourth-quarter 2025 survey released by tokenization platform Brickken and shared with CoinDesk, a clear majority of real‑world asset (RWA) issuers said their primary motivation for tokenizing is capital formation — not unlocking secondary market liquidity.
Key findings
- 53.8% of respondents said fundraising efficiency and capital access are their main reasons for tokenizing.
- Only 15.4% cited the need for liquidity as their primary incentive; 38.4% said liquidity is not needed.
- 46.2% expect secondary-market liquidity to appear within six to 12 months.
- Tokenization is already operational for many: 69.2% reported they are live, 23.1% are in progress, and 7.7% remain in planning.
- Regulation is the biggest brake: 53.8% said regulation slowed operations, 30.8% experienced partial friction, and 84.6% faced some regulatory drag. By contrast, only 13% identified technology or development as their primary obstacle.
What issuers are doing — and why
Brickken CMO Jordi Esturi told CoinDesk issuers are moving past tokenization as a buzzword and treating it as a foundational piece of financial infrastructure. “Issuers are using it to solve real problems: capital access, investor reach, and operational complexity,” he said. Many issuers are still in a validation phase, building compliant issuance structures, testing investor appetite and digitizing processes — which makes liquidity a secondary priority for now.
Esturi framed tokenization as “the upstream engine that feeds trading venues,” adding that without compliant, structured, high‑quality issuance, secondary platforms “have nothing meaningful to trade.” He also warned that liquidity should scale alongside issuance volume and institutional adoption, not precede them.
Market context: exchanges and trading hours
The Brickken report arrives as major U.S. exchanges roll out plans to support tokenized assets and extended trading. CME Group will offer around‑the‑clock trading for crypto derivatives by May 29, and both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have announced plans for 24/7 tokenized stock trading. Esturi argued these moves are driven more by exchange business-model evolution — increasing revenue via higher trading volumes — than by a sudden surge in issuer demand for liquidity.
When liquidity matters: the Ondo view
Some market participants emphasize the value of tokenizing liquid, well-priced assets. Ondo — which started with tokenized U.S. Treasuries and now manages more than $2 billion in assets — focuses on stocks and ETFs because of “strong price discovery, deep liquidity and clear valuation,” Ondo Chief Strategy Officer Ian de Bode told CoinDesk. “You tokenize something either to make it easier to access or to use it as collateral,” he said. “If TradFi moves to 24/7, that’s a godsend. It’s our biggest bottleneck.”
Asset mix and industry spread
The survey suggests tokenization is spreading beyond real estate:
- Equity/shares: 28.6% of assets tokenized or planned
- IP and entertainment: 17.9%
- Real estate: 10.7%
Respondents reported activity across multiple sectors, led by technology platforms (31.6%), followed by entertainment (15.8%) and private credit (15.8%). Smaller shares included renewable energy, banking, aerospace, carbon assets and hospitality (each roughly 5–5.3%).
Regulatory focus from day one
Legal advisors are seeing issuers bake compliance into product design rather than treating it as an afterthought. “Compliance isn’t something issuers are dealing with after launch; it’s something they’re taking into account and configuring from day one,” said Alvaro Garrido, founding partner at Legal Node, noting rising demand for tailored legal structures aligned with project specifics and underlying tech.
The bridge between TradFi and DeFi
For incumbents, the technical translation of regulatory and servicing standards into programmable systems is the critical bridge. “The real bridge between TradFi and DeFi is not ideological,” said Patrick Hennes, head of digital asset servicing at DZ PRIVATBANK. “It is issuance infrastructure that translates regulatory requirements, investor protection and asset servicing standards into programmable systems.”
Bottom line: issuers are treating tokenization as an issuance and capital‑formation tool for now. Liquidity is expected to follow, but only as issuance, regulatory clarity and institutional adoption scale up together.
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