Citrini says tokenization boom could lift broader crypto ecosystem

Tokenization is moving U.S. Treasuries, credit, stocks, and funds onchain, leaving it unclear where actual profits will land across the expanding financial infrastructure.

The Tech TL;DR:

• Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization allows traditional financial instruments to behave like software, moving between applications without requiring separate custody and settlement plumbing.
• Industry analysts diverge on revenue capture, debating whether tokenization infrastructure providers act as toll collectors or if distribution-heavy platforms control the economics.
• BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes argues that basic bookkeeping migrations from standard databases to onchain ledgers create minimal inherent value.

Infrastructure Tolls Versus Customer Distribution

As real-world assets migrate to distributed ledgers, market participants are examining how economic value gets distributed across the technology stack. Citrini argued that a tokenization boom could lift the broader crypto ecosystem, though increased onchain asset volume does not automatically make the underlying host blockchains the best trade. Christian Magoon, CEO of Amplify ETFs, thinks that infrastructure providers could function as toll booths on blockchain networks. Conversely, Magoon noted that distribution channels—including Coinbase, Robinhood, traditional banks, and wealth management platforms with established customer relationships—might be just as valuable.

That perspective contrasts with the assessment from BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom chief investment officer Arthur Hayes. In an interview with The Rollup, Hayes framed the revenue question bluntly. He noted that RWA tokenization has been discussed for a decade, pointing out that simply moving a security from an existing digital database to a new one fails to inherently generate value. “Okay, doing better bookkeeping. Thank you,” Hayes said, asking where entities actually make money in tokenization.

Commoditization of Tokenization Processes

While various market segments position themselves for fee generation, the core software pipeline required to tokenize assets faces structural commoditization. Jeff Dorman, CIO of investment firm Arca, told CoinDesk that he expects the actual tokenization process to become increasingly commoditized as competition grows.

Beyond issuance fees and trading revenue, tokenized securities unlock secondary financial utility. Tokenized assets can serve as collateral, be borrowed against, or plug into other financial products without each platform rebuilding custody and settlement from scratch. Concurrently, stablecoins supply native onchain cash liquidity, while retail-facing platforms and evolving regulatory frameworks in the U.S. and globally provide clearer paths for tokenized securities into markets.