Digital real-world assets (RWAs) are projected to reach US$88 trillion by 2035, accounting for approximately 16% of all investable assets, according to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The research, released in May 2026, shares different scenarios for the evolution of digital assets, highlighting that in progressive scenarios (#1 and #3), global digital RWAs could reach this peak valuation.

Scenario 1 envisions privately led growth where private actors and consumers drive digital asset adoption faster than public coordination efforts.

In Scenario 3, growth would be driven by institutions, with digital assets becoming a deep but largely invisible upgrade of the current financial system.

Scenario 2 projects growth across multiple, partially incompatible tracks within a fragmented landscape. This fragmented, multitrack system, characterized by prolonged regulatory fragmentation, would slow adoption and limits interoperability. Under this scenario, estimated RWAs would stand at US$46 trillion, accounting for 9% of investable assets.

Finally, Scenario 4 represents a backlash in which digital assets are constrained, serving as a base case for a world without digital assets. In this scenario, digital RWA and stablecoin volumes would be negligible.

Penetration rates by asset class

Commodity funds are projected to experience the highest impact from tokenization, with penetration rates expected to reach 40-50% by 2035. This growth will be driven by tokenized precious metals, especially among crypto-savvy customers.

Tokenized money market instruments are set to follow closely, with a projected penetration rate of 25-40% by 2035. Their operationally intensive, balance-sheet-heavy, and short-dated nature makes them prime candidates for on-chain issuance. By 2035, tokenized money market instruments are forecast to constitute 14% of the digital RWA market, valued at US$12.4 trillion in progressive scenarios.

Alternative assets, including private credit, and real estate, represent another significant growth era. For this asset class, tokenization penetration is expected to range between 25% and 35% by 2035, fueled by a drive to broaden client accessibility and tokenize new asset types. Alternatives are projected to hold the largest share of the digital RWA market at 27%, totaling US$23.5 trillion by 2035.

Securitized debt is similarly positioned for strong adoption, with estimated tokenization penetration between 20% and 30%. This asset class faces hurdles including structuring complexity, lifecycle events, and opacity, making it a strong candidate for tokenization. By 2035, tokenized securitized debt is projected to make up 21% of the digital RWA market, amounting to US$18.9 trillion.

Impact on banks

The rise of digital assets is expected to significantly impact banking revenue streams, expanding opportunities in asset and wealth management, while introducing new dynamics in capital markets. Conversely, transaction banking revenues will face the most significant pressure, followed by net interest income (NII) businesses.

In personal banking, the biggest opportunity lies in recapturing client assets currently held in non-bank wallets. The most immediate defensive move involves wallet and custody provision, with bank-issued or bank-controlled wallets. These wallets would enable clients to hold cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, deposit tokens, and tokenized securities within a regulated environment. By integrating these assets into the existing mobile banking interface, banks can reposition themselves as the trusted aggregation layer for all client wealth.

Beyond defense, digital assets expand the product shelf. Tokenization lowers operational friction in distributing alternatives, private credit, infrastructure, or real estate to a broader client base through fractionalization and greater reach, opening up new revenue opportunities.

Operating models can also benefit. In particular, tokenized life cycle management reduces manual reconciliation, automates corporate actions, and embeds compliance into programmable rails, lowering cost-to-serve per position and enabling scalable servicing of smaller tickets.

On liquidity management and cross-border payments, the report identifies treasury solutions and programmable liquidity as the primarily growth areas. Banks can monetize these opportunities by offering real-time cash visibility, automated sweeping, and conditional payments, alongside stablecoin-enabled cross-border payments. This is particularly valuable for developed-to-emerging-market corridors where revenue can be generated through payment orchestration, currency conversion, compliance, and connectivity fees.

The core opportunity, therefore, lies in proactively capturing of future rails and treasury economics before clients move to non-banking players.

Impact on asset managers

For asset managers, the core effect of tokenization will be an expansion of the addressable assets under management (AUM) base and a higher share of assets captured in scalable, fee-bearing structures.

First, tokenization will drive structural growth in investable RWA volumes. By improving settlement speed, reducing prefunding and collateral buffers, and lowering life cycle friction in issuance and transfer, tokenization will release previously locked capital.

Second, tokenization will enhance productization and accessibility, especially in alternatives. Tokenization enables fractionalization, lower minimum subscription sizes, and more systematic life cycle management. Lower operational friction makes it economically viable to distribute private credit, infrastructure, real estate, or structured exposures into discretionary mandates, model portfolios, and standardized fund vehicles, supporting deeper penetration of higher-fee asset classes across both institutional and wealth segments and thus expanding AUM without fundamentally changing investment strategy.

Third, tokenization will expand the service stack. Tokenized share classes can embed eligibility rules, jurisdictional transfer restrictions, reporting logic, and potentially settlement connectivity directly into the instrument.

Economically, this shifts the manager’s role from pure product manufacturer toward platform operator, owning not only the investment strategy but also a greater share of the operational and distribution plumbing. The benefit here is higher wallet share, greater asset stickiness, and improved bargaining power in distribution relationships.

Impact on capital markets

In capital markets, aggregate trading revenue pools are expected to remain broadly stable as higher trading frequency and improved capital velocity are offset by tighter spreads and more transparency. The value creation therefore does not stem from top-line expansion, but rather from efficiency gains, capital intensity effects, and liquidity mechanics.

For banks, the revenue effects will be two-sided. New fee pools will emerge in tokenized issuance, digital custody, smart-contract life cycle management, and collateral mobility. At the same time, legacy post-trade revenues will compress as reconciliation intensity falls, servicing spreads narrow, and pricing power declines on standardized rails.

The state of digital assets in Europe

In Europe, digital assets have moved from the periphery to being deeply embedded in many client portfolios. A 2025 survey by Boerse Stuttgart Digital found that 25% of investors in Germany, Italy, Spain, and France have already invested in cryptocurrencies, with adoption highest in Spain at 28%, and Germany at 25%. 36% of crypto investors say they are likely to invest again within the next five years, demonstrating sustained interest despite market volatility.

This growing engagement is reshaping customer expectations toward traditional banking. Nearly one in five investors expect their bank to offer access to crypto within the next three years, with demand strongest in Germany, where 22% of investors expect this service, followed by Spain at 19%, and Italy at 18%.

Potential switching behavior underscores the strategic relevance of crypto. 35% of respondents across Europe could imagine changing their bank if another institution offered better crypto investment opportunities. This pattern is consistent across markets, with Spain leading at 40%, followed by Italy at 35% and France at 33%, highlighting crypto services as a key differentiator for financial institutions.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by DC Studio via Magnific