The crypto market has seen huge price swings in 2025, with Bitcoin bouncing back over $80,000 after hitting a January peak of nearly $110,000. This dramatic fall wiped out about $1.3 trillion from the combined market value of Ethereum, XRP, and other cryptocurrencies. Amid this volatility, experts are now turning their focus to something even bigger than price — the tokenisation of real-world assets.
According to a new report titled “Approaching the Tokenisation Tipping Point”, the value of tokenised assets could skyrocket from $600 billion today to $19 trillion by 2033. This prediction comes from analysts at Ripple, the company behind XRP, and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
From Chaos to Opportunity
The crypto market’s instability has been influenced by major global events. One key trigger was the U.S. trade war led by former president Donald Trump, which created uncertainty across financial markets. This even led Michael Saylor’s Strategy, a well-known Bitcoin advocate, to issue a rare “sell” warning.
But even as prices dropped and panic spread, a new opportunity has been rising in the background — tokenisation. This process involves converting real-world assets like stocks, real estate, or commodities into blockchain-based tokens. These tokens can then be traded, transferred, or owned, just like cryptocurrencies.
BlackRock Leads the Way
At the heart of this movement is BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, with over $10 trillion under management. In January 2025, BlackRock won approval for its IBIT spot bitcoin ETF, along with several other similar products. This marked a major shift in traditional finance’s acceptance of crypto.
But BlackRock’s vision goes far beyond ETFs. In 2023, CEO Larry Fink admitted he had been wrong about Bitcoin. Once calling it “an index of money laundering,” he later described it as “digital gold” and a “legitimate” part of the financial system.
Fink believes that tokenisation is the next big financial revolution. In fact, he revealed that BlackRock is working on a blockchain-based alternative to the U.S. dollar, signaling just how serious the firm is about this transformation.
The $19 Trillion Vision
The joint Ripple–BCG report lays out the numbers. Right now, the total value of tokenised assets is around $600 billion. But by 2033, this could grow more than 30 times, reaching $19 trillion.
Why the big jump? Financial institutions are no longer treating tokenisation as a side project. Instead, it’s becoming a core strategy. The report states that tokenisation is likely to become a mainstream path for the future of finance.
Yue Hong Zhang, managing director and partner at BCG in Hong Kong, explained that global adoption is set to grow exponentially. He also pointed out that people outside of the crypto industry are now starting to ask how tokenised assets could solve problems in under-served or inefficient areas of the economy.
More Than Just Hype
BlackRock has already taken steps toward this future. In 2023, the company invested in Securitize, a platform that allows companies to issue tokenised securities. According to Joseph Chalom, BlackRock’s global head of strategic ecosystem partnerships, this investment is “another step in the evolution of our digital assets strategy.”
The idea is that almost anything – from pre-IPO stocks and hedge funds to infrastructure projects, commodities, and private credit – could eventually be tokenised. These tokens would then exist on blockchains, enabling faster, cheaper, and more transparent financial transactions.
A Tipping Point in 2025?
While the crypto market continues to deal with price swings, the bigger picture is clear. The world is moving toward a tokenised future. With backing from financial giants like BlackRock and predictions of a $19 trillion market, 2025 may be remembered as the year crypto moved beyond speculation and into the heart of global finance.
As the Ripple–BCG report concludes, tokenisation isn’t just a trend, it’s a strategic transformation. And we may be standing at the tipping point of that future today.
