There’s a real gap between where tokenization of real-world assets is today and where people expect it to be. Closing that gap takes infrastructure, not just interest, and different asset classes are going to get there on very different timelines.
Liquid assets move first
Financial products that are already highly liquid, like stocks, FX, and commodities, are the easiest to bring on-chain because the friction of moving them is already low. A tokenized stock market is a realistic near-term milestone; the rails for that already largely exist. Illiquid assets, ironically the ones that could benefit most from tokenization, face more obstacles before they get there.
Why real estate is the harder case
Real estate is the clearest example. Most property titles in the US still sit as paper records in county clerk offices, some untouched for decades. Tokenizing real estate at scale means digitizing that paperwork first, county by county, which is a slow and resource-intensive process that has little to do with blockchain technology itself. A realistic view puts meaningful movement toward tokenized real estate around 2028, with real scale more likely closer to 2030. Digital titles are part of that shift, and it’s plausible that NFTs find a second life in that context, not as collectibles but as the actual record of ownership tied to a wallet.
What full tokenization probably looks like
Even with steady progress, it’s unlikely everything gets tokenized. A more realistic expectation is that a large majority, though not all, of major asset classes reach some form of tokenization by the end of the decade. The assets that are hardest to move in the physical world tend to be the hardest to move on-chain too, and that friction doesn’t disappear just because the technology exists.
None of these are guarantees, they’re reasonable projections based on how liquid assets have historically adopted new financial infrastructure faster than illiquid ones. If you’re positioning around tokenization, the practical takeaway is to expect liquid financial products to lead and physical assets like real estate to lag well behind, by years, not months.
Educational only, not tax, legal, or investment advice. Check primary sources and speak with a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
