Traditional Finance Heavyweights Push Deeper into Tokenization as RWA Market Tops $30B

BlockBeats reported that, as of May 13, major traditional financial institutions worldwide are stepping up their move into onchain tokenized financial products, with the global market for tokenized real-world assets (RWA) now exceeding $30 billion. The sector is moving beyond early experimentation toward institutional-grade infrastructure, interoperability, and compliant onchain financial systems. Momentum has accelerated in recent days. BlackRock filed an application with the U.S. SEC yesterday for a new tokenized fund structure, again choosing Securitize as its onchain infrastructure partner. The design links onchain share-ownership records with a regulated transfer agent and investor-access system, aiming to align blockchain-based operations with traditional compliance requirements. Securitize said its subsidiary, Securitize Transfer Agent, LLC, will maintain the official fund share ownership records on a public blockchain, integrating onchain holdings data directly into the regulated fund registry. Market participants see the move as another step toward institutional-scale, regulated onchain capital markets, and as BlackRock's continued expansion following the success of BUIDL. BUIDL, BlackRock's first tokenized fund launched in 2024 with Securitize, has grown to about $2.3 billion in assets and is widely viewed as a leading example of institutional adoption of tokenized finance. Franklin Templeton has also formally partnered with Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, to explore tokenization opportunities for traditional financial products. The collaboration will span tokenized equities, compliant custody, actively managed yield products, and institutional-grade crypto liquidity via Kraken's OTC and Prime services. The two firms will prioritize onchain versions of Franklin Templeton products, including yield offerings for institutional clients, with potential expansion to a broader Kraken user base over time. Kraken previously launched its tokenized equity product, xStocks, which has generated more than $30 billion in cumulative trading volume since launching last year. Franklin Templeton has already issued multiple crypto ETFs and rolled out the tokenized money market fund BENJI, and is currently working with Ondo Finance on onchain financial products. JPMorgan is preparing to launch its second tokenized money market fund, JLTXX. On May 12, it filed documentation for the JPMorgan OnChain LiquidityToken Money Market Fund (ticker: JLTXX), which plans to issue digital tokens on the Ethereum blockchain backed by U.S. Treasuries and repurchase agreements.