Tokenization provides continuous global investment opportunities for advisors.

Through blockchain technology, tokenization is establishing a new, always-accessible investment market, providing individuals worldwide with simplified and fractional access to wealth-enhancing assets.

(Getty Images/ Unsplash+)

What to know:

You’re reading Crypto for Advisors, CoinDesk’s weekly newsletter that unpacks digital assets for financial advisors. Subscribe here to get it every Thursday.

In today’s newsletter, Nick Ducoff, who leads institutional growth at the Solana Foundation, draws a comparison between the capacity of tokenization to democratize investment access and the way the Internet expanded access to banking over fifteen years ago.

Next, in Ask an Expert, the CoinDesk Research Team addresses inquiries regarding stablecoin and tokenization trends from their February 2026 Stablecoins & Tokenization Assets Report. Read the complete report here.

– Sarah Morton

Internet capital markets: from the “unbrokeraged” to the universally invested

Fifteen years ago, more than 60 million Americans were “unbanked,” excluded from essential financial services as traditional banks deemed them unprofitable. Then Chime, Revolut, and other fintech innovators brought banking directly to smartphones, removing legacy obstacles such as minimum balances and penalty fees. Today, we confront an even more extensive exclusion issue: billions are effectively “unbrokeraged,” lacking access to capital markets and the investment opportunities necessary for building generational wealth.

Enter Internet Capital Markets: a global, always-available framework where assets are inherently digital, traded with a mobile-first approach, and accessible to anyone with a smartphone 24/7. With blockchain technology, Internet Capital Markets are set to revolutionize investing in the same way fintech transformed banking. The potential is enormous.

The scale of financial exclusion

The “unbrokeraged” consists of two distinct yet overlapping groups: those without any brokerage accounts and international investors who cannot efficiently access high-quality U.S. dollar-denominated assets. For instance, in Pakistan, as noted by Bilal Bin Saqib, Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) and CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council, only 300,000 individuals possess brokerage accounts, while 40 million have cryptocurrency wallets. The necessary infrastructure exists, but financial products remain largely inaccessible.

Even when local brokers provide access to U.S. markets, international investors often incur substantial premiums, not to mention the significant minimums and investor accreditation requirements that private markets impose. These are not products available for the global middle class; they are designed to cater to the already affluent.

Tokenization expands the playing field

Blockchain tokenization alters these dynamics by facilitating fractional ownership, removing intermediary costs, and operating continuously with instant settlement. The outcome is significantly lower minimums and global accessibility. For example, Hamilton Lane, a prominent alternative asset manager, allows investors to access Hamilton Lane private market exposure for as little as $500 through Republic Crypto. This represents a thousand-fold reduction in the entry barrier compared to conventional private fund minimums, signaling how internet-native market infrastructure can finally provide fractional access more broadly.

The recent BitGo IPO also illustrates tokenization’s democratizing potential. When BitGo went public on the New York Stock Exchange, a tokenized version of BitGo stock was concurrently tradable on Solana, enabling anyone globally with a Solana wallet to purchase BitGo stock immediately. This shift toward real-time, global accessibility is now being confirmed by some of the world’s largest asset managers: BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have introduced tokenized money market funds on public blockchains, facilitating 24/7 liquidity and transparency.

Why this infrastructure matters

Tokenization enhances access rather than competing with traditional markets. The blockchain operates continuously, allowing investors in Jakarta, São Paulo, or Lagos to acquire assets the moment they become available, rather than waiting for their local markets to open. Settlement occurs instantly against stablecoins, eliminating the multi-day clearing processes and currency conversion fees that impede retail investors outside of the U.S.

Speed and cost are crucial. High-performance blockchains like Solana, along with Layer 2 scaling solutions on Ethereum, can handle thousands of transactions per second for just fractions of a penny, making the economics of fractional ownership feasible. This establishes the groundwork for “universal basic ownership,” where anyone with a phone can now participate in the growth of the global economy, even across asset classes like pre-IPO stocks and private credit, which were previously restricted to institutions and the ultra-wealthy.

The advisor’s edge: strategy and accessibility

For financial advisors, this shift signifies a strategic exposure opportunity. Accessibility is now streamlined through regulated vehicles like spot Solana ETFs (e.g., SOEZ, QSOL, BSOL) and European ETPs, alongside user-friendly digital custody tools such as Phantom or Ledger wallets. Advisors can now leverage sub-cent transaction costs to offer sophisticated, fractionalized portfolios to a much wider client base. This infrastructure reduces the “cost to serve,” making institutional-grade diversification accessible to middle-class “mom and pop” investors via their financial advisers.

From unbrokeraged to universally invested

The fintech surge of the 2010s demonstrated that financial exclusion is a design flaw. Tokenization signifies the next chapter in this narrative. A software developer in South Korea should not encounter obstacles to investing in U.S. equities or accessing private credit returns. A small business owner in Argentina should not pay inflated prices for the same stocks available inexpensively to American investors. Advanced investment strategies should not remain confined to wealth management channels serving the top 1%.

The technological infrastructure has been established, and regulatory pathways are becoming clearer. What remains is to scale this infrastructure and ensure it fulfills its highest purpose of extending wealth-building opportunities to the billions currently excluded. While the task of banking the unbanked is far from complete, it provides a blueprint for the transformation of the unbrokeraged into the universally invested.

– Nick Ducoff, head of institutional growth, Solana Foundation

Ask an Expert

Q: What are stablecoins and why are they important?

Stablecoins are a category of digital currency designed to maintain a stable value. This is typically accomplished by “pegging” the stablecoin to a traditional asset, such as the U.S. dollar. Unlike other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ether, which may experience significant price fluctuations, stablecoins are intended to allow users to hold or trade digital assets without facing price volatility. Other applications of stablecoins include serving as primary trading pairs, facilitating cross-border payments, enabling decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and borrowing, and providing inflation protection. The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act), enacted in July 2025, establishes a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for U.S. dollar-backed payment stablecoins.

Q: What is the current stablecoin landscape?

After experiencing twenty-five consecutive months of growth, the total stablecoin market capitalization has slowed in the last four months, yet it remains close to its all-time high of $310 billion. CoinDesk’s latest research report indicates that as digital asset prices generally trend downward, the market dominance of stablecoins has surged. In February, the dominance of stablecoins rose to 13.3% (up from 11.2% in January), driven by the declining price trends of digital assets. Tether’s USDT continues to lead the sector with a 59.1% market share, while Circle’s USDC holds second place with 24.6%.

Q: What is the current traction for tokenized assets, and how quickly is the market for tokenized real-world assets growing?

Tokenized real-world assets are gaining significant traction in global financial markets, with the total tokenized market capitalization reaching a new all-time high of $23.4 billion by the end of February. This reflects a 22.9% month-over-month increase from $19 billion in January, highlighting the rapid pace of adoption across various asset classes. Much of this growth has been fueled by tokenized Treasuries, which increased by 15.1% to $10.5 billion and now constitute roughly 45% of the entire tokenized market. Additionally, tokenized commodities have emerged as a notable secondary growth driver, soaring 27% to $6.6 billion and representing 28.4% of the market. Other segments are also progressively evolving. The Stocks & ETFs sector reached $804.7 million by late February, marking a 3.1% monthly rise and maintaining a 3.4% share of the overall tokenized ecosystem.

– Jacob Joseph, Specialist