DeFi Could Reach $2.7T as Tokenization Expands: StanChart

Standard Chartered forecasts assets locked in decentralized finance will reach $2.7 trillion by 2030, driven by tokenization and crypto-native growth. Standard Chartered expects assets locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) to grow 37-fold to $2.7 trillion by the end of 2030. The expansion would be driven by both tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) and crypto-native assets moving through onchain protocols, Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said in a research note on Monday. “I think the next opportunity for generational wealth in digital assets is going to come via the DeFi protocols,” Kendrick said. “I estimate that the amount of tokenized assets active in DeFi will 37x by the end of 2030.” According to Kendrick, only 3% of stablecoins and 10% of tokenized RWAs are currently used in DeFi. He projected the share of tokenized assets used in DeFi to rise to 30% by the end of 2030, from about 3.5% today. The forecast underscores growing institutional expectations that tokenization could channel more capital into DeFi. However, reaching $2.7 trillion would require onchain assets to grow rapidly and the share of tokenized value used in DeFi protocols to rise nearly ninefold. _Decentralized finance’s total value locked. Source: DefiLlama_ Standard Chartered previously forecast that non-stablecoin tokenized RWAs [would grow to $2 trillion](https://cointelegraph.com/news/standard-chartered-2t-stablecoin-forecast-2028-t-bill-demand-trim) by the end of 2028, with tokenized money-market funds and US equities accounting for most of the projected market.