The inaugural 2024 Brazil Tokenization Report, themed "The Future Is Now," argues that tokenization has moved from a futuristic vision to what is already possible and being built today. Grounding its thesis in concrete examples rather than speculation, it maps how blockchain pushes financial gains to the extreme of near-zero marginal cost and instant speed. It positions Brazil — with pro-innovation regulators, a digitized population and national assets on-chain — to be a global protagonist of tokenization.
A game changer for financial markets
The report frames tokenization as the next wave in a long arc of financial innovation — from paper records and credit cards to digital money, ETFs, Bitcoin, Pix, CBDCs and stablecoins — each step reducing the time and cost of transactions toward near-zero marginal cost. Citing BCG, it projects that alternative tokenized assets could reach USD 16 trillion by 2030, a value comparable to the entire GDP of China, 10% of global GDP, or the combined market value of the world's 20 largest publicly traded companies. The initial focus is on the most straightforward assets — cash and bonds — with private credit, stablecoins and US Treasury debt already among the largest on-chain categories, before a broader transformation extends across real-world assets.
The networks and building blocks
The report traces blockchain's foundations from 1991 cryptography and 2008's birth of Bitcoin through Ethereum and smart contracts, the ICO boom, NFTs and the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF in 2024. Among networks powering RWA projects, Ethereum leads at 35.3%, followed by Polygon at 14.4%, with BNB, Arbitrum and Solana each in low single digits. Real-world assets are already spread across categories — Real Estate at 21.8%, Private Equity & Stocks at 17.5%, Sustainable and Responsible Investments at 12.3% and Public Debt Instruments at 11.8% — while the United States concentrates 34.8% of projects by jurisdiction, ahead of Germany (11.4%) and Switzerland (9.0%), with Brazil at 1.0%. Building a tokenized asset requires secure technological infrastructure, a clear regulatory framework, strong security, financial integration and legal backing for the underlying assets.
Key findings
- BCG projects alternative tokenized assets could reach USD 16 trillion by 2030 — comparable to China's entire GDP or 10% of global GDP.
- Ethereum leads networks used in RWA projects at 35.3%, followed by Polygon at 14.4%.
- Real Estate is the largest RWA category at 21.8%, followed by Private Equity & Stocks at 17.5%.
- The United States concentrates 34.8% of tokenization projects by jurisdiction, ahead of Germany at 11.4% and Switzerland at 9.0%.
- Digital wallets are projected to rise from 30% to 46% of global POS payment value between 2023 and 2027, overtaking cash and cards.