📝 Executive Summary
Stablecoins alone will generate a demand for up to $1 trillion worth of onchain U.S. Treasury bills and $2.6 trillion for tokenized stocks, said Citi.
Citi projects a $5.5 trillion tokenized securities market by 2030, with stablecoins fueling demand for $1 trillion in onchain U.S. Treasury bills and $2.6 trillion in tokenized stocks.
Citi forecasts $1 trillion in stablecoin demand for onchain U.S. Treasury bills by 2030. This structural buying pressure could compress yields on short-term U.S. government debt, lifting bond prices.
If stablecoins absorb $1 trillion in Treasury bills as projected, it would create sustained buying pressure, likely compressing short-term yields and flattening the yield curve.
Currently, stablecoin Treasury holdings are estimated in the tens of billions, so the projected trillion-dollar jump suggests significant future upside not yet fully reflected in prices.
Regulatory actions limiting stablecoin growth or requiring diversified reserves could reduce the need for Treasury holdings, potentially reversing the trade.
Citi expects stablecoins to drive $2.6 trillion into tokenized stocks. Increased tokenization could boost equity market liquidity and broaden investor access, potentially supporting higher valuations.
Increased demand for tokenized versions of S&P 500 stocks could lift overall index valuations as more capital flows into equities via blockchain rails.
Not immediately, but Citi's forecast suggests tokenized securities could capture a meaningful share of trading volumes by 2030, complementing existing markets.
Growth sectors like technology and finance may see higher tokenization activity due to their liquidity and investor demand, potentially outperforming in a tokenized environment.
Ethereum remains the dominant platform for tokenization of assets, including stablecoins and securities. Citi's forecast implies massive expansion of onchain activity, driving demand for ETH as gas fees and as a settlement layer.
Ethereum hosts the majority of stablecoins and DeFi protocols, so expanded tokenization likely increases transaction fees and demand for ETH as network fuel.
Layer-2 solutions and upcoming upgrades aim to scale Ethereum; if successful, they could handle the volume, but bottlenecks could push activity to alternative chains.
Broad adoption of tokenized securities on public blockchains like Ethereum and Bitcoin sidechains would validate crypto infrastructure, potentially attracting more institutional capital into crypto assets like Bitcoin.
No, it focuses on stablecoins and tokenized traditional securities, but increased blockchain adoption could indirectly benefit Bitcoin as the leading crypto asset.
As tokenized markets grow, they will require settlement across blockchain networks, potentially increasing usage of Bitcoin as a store of value and medium of exchange in the crypto ecosystem.
Stablecoins alone will generate a demand for up to $1 trillion worth of onchain U.S. Treasury bills and $2.6 trillion for tokenized stocks, said Citi.
Citi forecasts the market for tokenized securities will reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, driven largely by stablecoin demand for onchain Treasury bills and tokenized stocks.
Stablecoins are expected to create $1 trillion in demand for onchain U.S. Treasury bills as they seek high-quality liquid assets to back their reserves.
Tokenized stocks are digital representations of equities on a blockchain, enabling faster settlement and greater accessibility; Citi projects $2.6 trillion in demand from stablecoin issuers.