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Crypto IPOs could create massive $1 trillion market amid tokenization wave, Jefferies says
Jefferies projects a $1 trillion market opportunity for crypto IPOs as institutional capital floods into tokenized real-world assets over the next two years. The shift marks a hard pivot away from retail speculation toward infrastructure plays: securities, commodities, real estate, and supply chain verification on-chain. Real-world asset tokenization is already moving. Jefferies identified $50+ billion in RWA market value today, with major financial institutions filing for blockchain-backed securities licenses.
The mechanism is straightforward. Currently, crypto trading happens on unregulated exchanges where companies can't actually go public using blockchain rails. A crypto IPO framework would let tokenized companies raise capital, list shares on blockchain networks, and bypass traditional securities gatekeeping. Institutions don't need to bet on Bitcoin's price appreciation anymore. They need exposure to companies building the infrastructure that makes tokenization work at scale.
Who's moving first. BlackRock and Fidelity already operate custody and settlement services for digital assets. JPMorgan created JPM Coin for instant corporate settlements. Cboe, DTCC, and Nasdaq are all testing blockchain settlement layers. These aren't crypto experiments. They're institutions carving out positions in a system where settlement happens in hours instead of days and custody lives on-chain instead of in vaults.
The timeline matters because it explains why this isn't hype. Jefferies set a two-year window specifically because regulatory clarity on crypto securities is approaching in the US and EU. MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) is already live in Europe with clear token classification rules. The SEC is filing guidance documents weekly. Once the legal framework exists, the infrastructure already exists to execute IPOs on public blockchains.
RWA tokenization isn't speculative anymore. Ondo Finance tokenized US Treasuries and hit $500 million in assets under management. Maple Finance tokenizes corporate credit and loan pools. Backed Finance tokenizes real-world bonds. These aren't theoretical projects. Real investors are collecting real yields denominated in dollars, not chasing alt coin pumps.
The $1 trillion figure assumes adoption across four asset classes: equities (IPOs and secondary offerings), fixed income (bonds and credit), commodities (metals, energy contracts), and supply chain assets (logistics, inventory, IP licensing). If even 2-3% of traditional capital markets migrate to tokenized settlement, the math checks. Traditional equity markets alone represent $120 trillion globally. Tokenization doesn't need to capture much of that to create a nine-figure opportunity.