Morgan Stanley: up to $10T tokenized

Morgan Stanley expects the market for tokenized real-world assets to grow to between $3 trillion and $10 trillion by 2030. Amy Oldenburg, the bank’s head of digital asset strategy, gave the forecast on 12 October 2026 at the TOKEN2049 conference, saying the market would land within that range without question.

At the same event, she said the bank now expects to support tokenized equities on its trading platform in the first quarter of 2027, later than the second-half 2026 target it had given earlier.

What tokenization means

Tokenization is the process of representing an ownership claim, such as a share, a bond or a fund unit, as a digital token on a blockchain. Supporters say it can make transfers faster, allow trading and settlement at any hour, and cut the paperwork involved in managing assets and collateral.

How big is the market today

Most tokenized real-world assets today are short-term government debt held in on-chain money market funds, along with tokenized private credit and commodities such as gold. The total is still small compared with global stock and bond markets, which is why forecasts vary so widely. Reaching even the lower end of Morgan Stanley’s range would mean the market growing many times over in a few years, driven by large banks, asset managers and market infrastructure providers moving products on-chain.

Why the stock timeline moved

Morgan Stanley plans to offer tokenized shares through its alternative trading system (ATS), a venue that matches buy and sell orders outside public exchanges such as Nasdaq. The bank already uses this model for equities, derivatives and swaps. Oldenburg explained that the limiting factor is product: suitable tokenized securities need to exist, and client demand needs to build, before the bank can support them on the platform.

Where the bank sees early demand

Oldenburg pointed to private company shares, structured notes, custom investment products and access to private funds as areas where blockchain could reduce administrative work first. Collateral is another focus. Research from Citi cited in coverage of the event found that 77% of financial institutions expected to use tokenized collateral during 2026.

To prepare, Morgan Stanley has set up a Digital Asset Lab to test blockchain tools, is building its own wallet infrastructure, and received conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in June 2026 for a national trust bank to provide custody of digital assets.

Why it matters for payments

Tokenized assets need a fast way to pay for them on the same blockchain. That is one reason stablecoins and tokenized deposits are growing together with tokenization: they allow an asset and the money paying for it to move at the same moment. As large banks commit to tokenized markets, the payment rails behind them, including regulated stablecoins, become more important for everyday finance as well.

What to watch next

Oldenburg named several catalysts the bank is following: the launch of the DTCC’s tokenization service expected in late October, the implementation of the US GENIUS Act stablecoin law in January, and further regulatory clarity from the Federal Reserve. Whether tokenized stocks actually go live on Morgan Stanley’s platform in early 2027 will be an important test of real demand.

What it means for ODIX Pay users

Tokenization is growing fastest in dollar-based assets, and dollar stablecoins are the part most people can use today. For people following stablecoin news, ODIX Earn is one way to use dollar stablecoins: it places USDC and USDT in lending strategies curated by a professional strategy partner, with no lock-ups and earnings shown after fees. Rates change and returns are not guaranteed. If you don't hold stablecoins yet, you can buy crypto with a credit card in the app, choosing USDT or USDC. Learn how ODIX Earn works.