The market for tokenized assets is growing quickly, but John Hoffman thinks the biggest wave of demand hasn't arrived yet: artificial intelligence.
The former Invesco and Grayscale executive, who recently joined tokenization firm Ondo Finance ONDO $ 0.3816 as head of portfolio products, argued the convergence of blockchain infrastructure and AI could become one of the biggest forces shaping capital markets over the coming decade.
"The future of markets are onchain," Hoffman said in a CoinDesk interview. AI agents, he said, will eventually become active participants, buying, selling and allocating capital through tokenized investment products.
Hoffman's thesis ties into one of the biggest trends in both crypto and traditional finance: bringing all kinds of financial assets onto blockchain rails. Wall Street banks, asset managers and exchanges are experimenting with tokenized versions of bonds, funds and equities, betting that blockchain-based infrastructure can make markets faster and more efficient.
The market for tokenized assets has nearly tripled over the past year to more than $33 billion, according to RWA.xyz . Citi estimates the sector could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, while a separate forecast from Boston Consulting Group and Ripple puts the opportunity at $18.9 trillion by 2033.
Hoffman said he sees parallels of tokenization with the early days of exchange-traded funds (ETF).
"ETFs were referred to as weapons of mass destruction," Hoffman said, recalling the skepticism that surrounded the structure before it became one of the dominant ways investors access markets.
When he joined the ETF industry in the early 2000s, the market held roughly $200 billion in assets, he said. Today, it's nearly a $20-trillion global asset class, according to a PwC report .
He said tokenization is following a similar path, but much faster than ETFs.
"Every market that digitizes gets larger," he said. "And tokenization is really the digitization of capital markets."
For Hoffman, tokenization will become the foundation for what comes next: AI-driven financial services.
He said he envisions a future where autonomous agents continuously monitor markets and allocate capital through professionally managed portfolios that update in real time as conditions change.
"Our end state will be portfolios that are professionally managed, real-time and adjusting to market circumstances and data changes," he said.
To get there, the industry first needs tokenized assets, onchain prime-brokerage infrastructure and asset-management strategies that can be executed natively on blockchain networks.
Ondo is building toward that vision, he said. The firm already offers tokenized U.S. Treasury products and plans to expand into stocks, ETFs and perpetual futures through its tokenized marketplace.
"The vision is really about becoming the world's most trusted platform for intelligently managed, onchain investment portfolios," Hoffman said.
In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
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