Key Highlights:
- Citrini Research suggests that the accelerating shift of traditional finance toward tokenization will open massive revenue streams for fee-collecting platforms, lenders, and infrastructure providers.
- Market analysts caution against assuming major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin ($BTC) and Ethereum ($ETH) are the optimal plays for tokenization, noting that targeted equities and specific crypto tokens offer better risk-reward expressions.
- Key corporate picks positioned to capitalize on Wall Street moving onchain include Securitize, Coinbase, Robinhood, Circle, Figure Technology Solutions, SoFi, and Bullish.
Wall Street’s Onchain Migration and the Search for Fee Generators
As traditional financial infrastructure increasingly converges with blockchain technology, the structural flexibility of digital assets is opening fresh addressable markets for trading platforms, institutional lenders, stablecoin issuers, and securities transfer agents. According to a new report by Citrini Research, the primary financial beneficiaries of this shift will likely be the specific enterprises and crypto protocols that directly capture fees from ongoing transaction volume and asset management operations rather than the broader crypto market beta.
The research emphasizes that investors should reconsider default assumptions regarding how the market will express tokenization gains. “We can’t assume that majors, primarily $BTC and $ETH, will make new ATHs on this,”
the report said, referring to all-time highs. “Even if they do, there are better expressions.”
By focusing on the structural rails facilitating the movement of conventional financial assets to distributed ledgers, capital allocators can target direct cash-flow generation rather than relying solely on speculative momentum.
Equities Positioned to Capture Tokenization Revenue
To navigate the emerging landscape, Citrini proposed two targeted investment baskets: one composed of publicly traded equities and a secondary basket focused on native crypto tokens. The equities thesis centers squarely on firms positioned to monetize Wall Street’s structural migration to blockchain networks.
Among the core equity selections, the report highlighted tokenization specialist Securitize (SECZ), which bridges traditional markets and decentralized networks by maintaining the legal link between blockchain-based tokens and the underlying securities they represent. Major retail- and institutional-facing brokerages are also slated to benefit; cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) and retail trading powerhouse Robinhood (HOOD) provide direct exposure via their active trading venues and proprietary blockchain infrastructure. Furthermore, stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) stands to capture substantial upside from growing institutional demand for its USDC stablecoin, which remains a primary vehicle used to settle tokenized transactions.
Citrini also identified specialized financial service providers and alternative lending networks as key equity plays. Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR) was selected for its role in tokenized lending, while SoFi (SOFI) provides leverage to stablecoin payment flows. Additionally, the report singled out Bullish (BLSH), the institutional digital asset exchange operator and parent company of CoinDesk, which is expanding its market reach through the acquisition of traditional share registrar Equiniti.
Crypto-Native Tokens Offer Broader Structural Exposure
Beyond traditional public listings, the analysis indicates that native digital assets may present an even more compelling upside profile for tokenization adoption. Citrini noted that it was “actually more excited”
about its dedicated crypto-token basket, emphasizing that onchain assets provide a broader and more diverse exposure profile than the comparatively limited selection of publicly traded corporate stocks currently available to investors.
Why This Matters
Tokenization represents a transformative phase in global finance, transitioning conventional financial assets—such as equities, debt instruments, and real-world assets—onto programmable blockchains. As financial institutions look to lower settlement times, eliminate reconciliation overhead, and enhance market liquidity, capital flows are shifting toward the middle-tier infrastructure providers that make tokenized issuance and compliance possible. Citrini’s analysis indicates a market paradigm shift where utility and fee extraction supersede simple store-of-value narratives, signaling that the future winners of the real-world asset (RWA) expansion will be the transactional conduits connecting legacy capital to the blockchain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why might Bitcoin and Ethereum underperform as direct tokenization investments?
According to Citrini Research, investors cannot assume that market majors like Bitcoin ($BTC) and Ethereum ($ETH) will reach new all-time highs purely on tokenization trends. While broad market assets may benefit passively, focused infrastructure businesses and protocols that directly collect operational and settlement fees are viewed as more effective expressions of this thematic growth.
Which public companies did Citrini Research select for tokenization exposure?
The research highlighted Securitize (SECZ) for legal token-to-security infrastructure, Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) for exchange and infrastructure support, Circle (CRCL) for USDC settlement rails, Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR) for tokenized lending, SoFi (SOFI) for stablecoin payments, and Bullish (BLSH) for institutional trading and registrar operations.
Why is Citrini more optimistic about its crypto-token basket compared to equities?
Citrini noted that the crypto-token basket offers a broader and deeper range of operational exposure to the tokenization ecosystem, whereas the universe of publicly listed companies operating natively in the real-world asset and tokenization sector remains relatively limited.
