A new Q4 2025 survey from tokenization platform Brickken suggests that the majority of real world asset (RWA) issuers are using tokenization to raise capital rather than to unlock secondary market liquidity, according to a report shared with CoinDesk.
Among respondents, 53.8% said capital formation and financing efficiency were the main reasons for tokenization, while 15.4% said the need for liquidity was the main motivation. A further 38.4% said they did not need liquidity, and 46.2% said they expected secondary market liquidity to be available within 6-12 months.
“What we are seeing is a shift from tokenization as a buzzword to tokenization as a financial infrastructure layer,” Brickken CMO Jordi Esturi told CoinDesk. “Issuers are using it to solve real-world problems such as access to capital, investor reach, and operational complexity.”
Bricken’s report comes as major U.S. stock exchanges announce plans to expand their trading models for tokenized assets to include 24/7 markets. CME Group has announced that it will offer 24-hour trading of crypto derivatives by May 29, while the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq have shared plans to offer tokenized stock trading 24/7.
Esturi said the exchange’s plans have more to do with the evolution of business models than issuers’ demand disruption. “Rather than being ahead of demand, it’s important for exchanges to evolve their business models,” he said. “Exchanges increase their revenue by increasing trading volumes, and extending trading hours is a natural way to do so.”
At the same time, many issuers are still in what he calls the “validation stage” of proving their regulatory structures, testing investor appetite and digitizing their issuance processes. “Liquidity is not the main focus yet as they are building the foundation,” he stressed, adding that they see tokenization as “an upstream engine that feeds the trading venue.”
CMO Bricken also said that unless compliant, structured, high-quality assets are brought to market, there is no point in trading on secondary trading platforms. “The real value creation happens at the issuing level,” Esturi points out.
Discretionary and mandatory liquidity
While 38.4% of issuers surveyed said they did not need liquidity, Esturi pointed out the difference between “voluntary liquidity and mandatory liquidity” and noted that many private market issuers operate with a long-term perspective. “Liquidity is inevitable, but it must grow alongside, not ahead of, issuance and institutional adoption.”
Ondo started with tokenized U.S. Treasuries and currently has more than $2 billion in assets, but is particularly focused on stocks and ETFs because of their “strong price discovery, deep liquidity, and clear valuations,” Chief Strategy Officer Ian de Bord said in a recent interview with CoinDesk.
“When you tokenize something, you make it easier to access it or use it as collateral,” de Bode says. “Stocks are both true, and unlike buildings in Manhattan, they’re priced like assets that people actually understand. If TradFi goes 24/7, that’s a godsend,” de Bord added. “That’s our biggest bottleneck.”
Research shows that tokenization is already operational for many participants. 69.2% of respondents reported that their tokenization process is complete and operational, 23.1% are in progress, and 7.7% are still in the planning stage.
Regulation remains an issue
Regulation was a major concern for those surveyed, with 53.8% of respondents saying regulations slowed down their operations and 30.8% reporting partial or situational regulatory friction. In total, 84.6% experienced some degree of regulatory resistance. In contrast, 13% cited technology or development challenges as the most difficult part of tokenization.
“Compliance is not something that issuers deal with post-launch. It is something that issuers consider and set from day one,” said Álvaro Garrido, founding partner at Legalnode. “We believe there is a growing demand for legal structures tailored to specific project needs and underlying technology.”
The report also suggests that tokenization is expanding beyond real estate. Real estate accounted for 10.7% of assets tokenized or planned to be tokenized, compared to stocks/equities 28.6% and IP and entertainment-related assets 17.9%. Respondents’ industries included technology platforms (31.6%), entertainment (15.8%), private credit (15.8%), renewable energy (5.3%), banking (5.3%), carbon assets (5.2%), aerospace (5.3%), and hospitality (5.2%).
“The real bridge between TradFi and DeFi is not ideological,” says Patrick Hennes, Head of Digital Asset Services at DZ PRIVATBANK. “It is the issuance infrastructure that translates regulatory requirements, investor protection, and asset servicing standards into a programmable system.”
