The race to bring traditional financial assets onchain is accelerating, and some of the biggest players in tokenization say the shift could fundamentally change how investors access products
The race to bring traditional financial assets onchain is accelerating, and some of the biggest players in tokenization say the shift could fundamentally change how investors access products like the S&P 500 over the next several years.
From tokenized treasury funds to blockchain-based versions of stock indices, firms across both traditional finance and crypto are increasingly pushing toward 24/7 access to assets that have historically only traded during standard market hours.
The movement reflects a broader effort to modernize the infrastructure underpinning global financial markets.
Related: Why blockchain and AI are key to the future of tokenization
"We're at an iPhone touch screen moment for financial markets," said Superstate Co-Founder Jim Hiltner. "The question is no longer whether onchain markets will exist, but how quickly the regulatory and operational scaffolding catches up."
The idea is straightforward in theory: investors could eventually gain exposure to products tied to traditional assets, including the S&P 500, through blockchain-based infrastructure rather than legacy brokerage and settlement systems.
But industry leaders say the implications go far beyond simply allowing stocks to trade overnight.
Many executives describe tokenization less as a new asset class and more as an upgrade to the financial system's underlying infrastructure.
"Tokenization is not about creating a new asset class," said Edwin Mata, CEO of Brickken. "It is about upgrading the infrastructure through which existing assets are issued, managed, and exchanged."
Today's financial markets still rely heavily on fragmented systems, delayed settlement periods, and multiple intermediaries.
Blockchain advocates argue onchain assets could streamline many of those processes through near-instant settlement, automated compliance, programmable corporate actions, and continuous market access.
Germany-based 360X compared the shift to the transition from voice trading to electronic trading decades ago.
"We view this shift as a fundamental infrastructure upgrade," said 360X Co-CEO Michael F. Spitz. "Over the next 1–2 years, we expect a hybrid reality where traditional participants use onchain assets for core operations, such as 24/7 portfolio balancing or real-time hedging."
360X also pointed to recent tokenization initiatives from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, or DTCC, as one of the clearest signs that tokenization is moving toward institutional-scale adoption.
While around-the-clock trading has become one of the most discussed use cases for tokenized equities and indices, several executives said the larger opportunity lies in programmability.
Centrifuge Co-Founder Anil Sood argued the market is underestimating how transformative programmable assets could become.
"The bigger opportunity is in the new kinds of products tokenization enables alongside existing markets," Sood said.
Centrifuge is working with S&P Dow Jones Indices on SPXA, a tokenized version of the S&P 500 designed to trade outside traditional exchange hours while also functioning inside lending markets and smart contracts.
An S&P 500 position, Sood argued, could eventually function as a "programmable building block" rather than simply sitting idle inside a brokerage account.
For all the enthusiasm, the industry is not glossing over what still stands in the way.
Regulatory clarity is the biggest one, particularly around how tokenized equities are issued and traded. Liquidity is another. As Sood pointed out, "being available 24/7 isn't the same as being liquid 24/7."
There are also integration challenges. Tokenized assets need to connect with the custody systems, brokerages, and banking rails that investors already use — otherwise they remain isolated from the broader financial system.
"They need to connect with custody, brokerage, and banking infrastructure that investors already rely on," said Inmoo Hwang, Co-Founder and Group Managing Director of ADDX.
Major institutions are not waiting for those problems to be fully solved. BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have already expanded into tokenized finance, and Superstate says tokenized securities are being used inside live decentralised finance markets today.
The long-term vision, according to many in the space, is not to replace traditional finance but to quietly rebuild the infrastructure underneath it.
"The future of tokenization may look less like disruption and more like invisible modernization," said Mata.
"The end user may not even realize blockchain is being used, only that markets work better, faster, and at lower cost."
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