Wall Street’s effort to place stocks, bonds, loans and other financial assets on blockchains could create a larger opportunity for the companies and crypto protocols that process the resulting activity than for bitcoin or ether, according to Citrini Research.
In a 79-page report titled “Breaking the Wall,” published Thursday, the research firm argued that tokenization could expand markets for trading, lending and payments. The report’s central idea is that the most important beneficiaries may be businesses collecting fees when tokenized assets are issued, exchanged, used as collateral or settled through digital payment systems.
According to CoinDesk, Citrini said investors should not assume that the two largest crypto assets will be the clearest way to benefit from this shift. “We can't assume that majors, primarily BTC and ETH, will make new ATHs on this,” the report said, referring to all-time highs. “Even if they do, there are better expressions.”
Tokenization means representing a traditional asset as a digital token recorded on a blockchain. In principle, a tokenized share, bond or loan can move between compatible financial platforms and trade beyond the operating hours of conventional markets. A tokenized stock could also be used as collateral for a loan from an investor’s digital wallet, rather than being handled solely through a traditional brokerage.
Citrini is known for research covering technology and markets, including artificial intelligence, and operates a Substack newsletter with more than 263,000 followers. Its earlier AI research went viral, provoking widespread concern and a brief market meltdown. The firm’s tokenization report applies a similar focus on infrastructure: which companies provide the venues, records, financing and payment tools needed as more financial assets move onchain.
Public companies identified by Citrini
Citrini outlined two groups of potential beneficiaries: publicly traded companies and crypto tokens. Its stock basket focused on firms that could earn fees from financial activity conducted on blockchain networks.
Securitize was highlighted as a tokenization company that maintains the legal connection between blockchain-based tokens and the securities they represent. Coinbase and Robinhood were included for their trading businesses and blockchain infrastructure. Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, was identified as a possible beneficiary of increased demand for stablecoins to settle transactions.
The report also named Figure Technology Solutions for tokenized lending and SoFi for stablecoin payments. Bullish, an institutionally focused digital-asset exchange operator and CoinDesk’s parent company, was included as well. Citrini linked Bullish’s position to its acquisition of share registrar Equiniti.
The broader point is that tokenization could require more than a blockchain network alone. Trading venues, lenders, stablecoin issuers and companies responsible for recording securities ownership could all play roles as traditional financial products are represented digitally.
Crypto protocols and the fee question
Citrini said it was “actually more excited” about its crypto-token basket, describing it as a broader opportunity because the number of listed companies connected to tokenization remains limited.
The group included Aerodrome, a trading platform that could collect fees from transactions involving tokenized stocks, and Maple, which manages blockchain-based lending products for institutional investors. Pendle, a protocol for trading future income from interest-bearing assets, was also named. Ondo Finance was included for its tokenized U.S. Treasury and stock products, as well as its more recent expansion into perpetual futures.
Other selections included Aave, which provides lending infrastructure; Uniswap, a decentralized trading marketplace; and Ethena, which issues stablecoins and has expanded into digital finance through savings, cards and payments. Ether.fi was cited for crypto-based financial services, while Chainlink and LayerZero were included for market-data and cross-blockchain connectivity roles.
Derive, a decentralized options-trading protocol, could benefit if tokenized shares and other assets lead to more derivatives activity on blockchains, the report said. Citrini also mentioned newer perpetual-futures venues Lighter and Variational. Perpetual futures allow traders to take positions on price movements without owning the underlying asset and do not have an expiration date. Hyperliquid was described as a dominant blockchain-based venue in this market, with the two newer platforms potentially gaining ground as the sector expands. Citrini’s stock basket included exposure to Hyperliquid through the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF.
The report emphasized that higher trading volume or network activity does not automatically mean a token’s price will rise. Investors must examine how a protocol generates revenue, who receives its fees and whether token holders receive any portion of those fees.
Risks and the current crypto market
Citrini also identified obstacles to tokenization. Liquidity may be divided among competing blockchains, security problems could delay adoption, and legal issues may affect synthetic tokenized stocks. Such products can provide exposure to a share price without giving investors the voting rights or direct ownership associated with traditional shares.
Moneyiar market data at 21:29 on October 8, 2026, showed bitcoin at $81,633.61, down 1.98% over 24 hours and 3.46% over seven days. Ethereum stood at $2,473.92, falling 3.70% over 24 hours and 8.15% over seven days. Compound was priced at $23.30, up 0.98% in 24 hours but down 2.34% over seven days, while Four traded at $0.2640, gaining 0.36% over 24 hours and losing 7.89% over the week.
Citrini’s argument is therefore less a prediction that bitcoin and ether will fail than a case for looking beyond the largest cryptocurrencies when assessing the tokenization theme. The potential winners, it says, may be the platforms and protocols that turn blockchain-based trading, lending and payments into recurring fee-generating businesses.
