Tokenisation talk: big projections from a bank CIO
Sygnum Bank’s CIO publicly discussed tokenisation as an enabler of autonomous on‑chain asset management and cited a forecast range of $5–30 trillion in tokenised assets by 2030 while noting Fireblocks has processed around $5 trillion in transaction volume. The comments position tokenisation as a potentially large transformation for asset operations and custody over the next decade (x.com).
A token is a digital record of ownership on a blockchain, and Sygnum’s chief investment officer said that record could reshape how assets are managed and moved. (mckinsey.com) McKinsey defined tokenization in June 2024 as creating a unique digital representation of an asset on a blockchain, with the token then able to be invested, exchanged, or pledged as collateral. The same paper said the main pitch is fewer reconciliations, more automation through smart contracts, and a single ledger that tracks ownership changes. (mckinsey.com) In public remarks shared by Sygnum, the bank’s investment chief tied that idea to “autonomous” on-chain asset management, meaning software can handle more of the trading, settlement, and portfolio operations once assets exist as programmable tokens. Sygnum’s own tokenization business markets issuance, secondary trading, and portfolio access for assets including money market funds, private debt, private markets, art, and fine wine. (sygnum.com) The big number in the pitch is still a forecast, not a measured market size. A 2022 Boston Consulting Group and ADDX report projected tokenized assets could reach $16.1 trillion by 2030, while McKinsey’s 2024 base case put tokenized financial assets at about $2 trillion by 2030, with a broader $1 trillion to $4 trillion range. (addx.co) (mckinsey.com) That gap helps explain why executives now talk about tokenization as infrastructure rather than a crypto trade. McKinsey said adoption is “not yet widespread” but described the market as moving from pilot projects toward scaled deployment in funds, bonds, loans, securitization, and alternative assets. (mckinsey.com) Fireblocks is part of that infrastructure layer. In February 2026, the company described itself in multiple releases as securing more than $5 trillion in digital asset transfers annually, a figure Sygnum cited to show that large transaction rails already exist even if tokenized asset markets remain early. (prnewswire.com) Sygnum has been building around that thesis for years. The bank says its tokenization platform covers the full chain from structuring and issuance to secondary trading, and its current examples include a Fidelity International liquidity fund token launched in March 2024 and distributed ledger share classes for a Hamilton Lane private markets fund launched in February 2024. (sygnum.com) Sygnum also uses Fireblocks in custody and trading operations. Fireblocks says Sygnum uses its technology to let institutional clients trade on centralized exchanges while assets remain in regulated, bankruptcy-remote custody, which is the kind of back-office design tokenization advocates argue can be extended across more asset classes. (fireblocks.com) The thread running through the debate is simple: one camp sees tokenization heading toward trillions of dollars by 2030, while another sees a slower build with narrower near-term use cases. Either way, the firms making the case are no longer talking only about coins; they are talking about funds, bonds, custody, and settlement plumbing. (addx.co) (mckinsey.com)
