Five Predictions for Tokenization in 2027

At the recent Crypto with Katten symposium, co-sponsored with the Investment Advisers Association (IAA), Katten hosted a panel on “The Tokenization Wave: Opportunities, Challenges, and What Comes Next,” moderated by Matt Kluchenek and featuring an extraordinarily distinguished group: Billy Miller (COO, Securitize), Norman Reed (Director, Binance US), Amanda Tuminelli (CEO and CLO, DeFi Education Fund), and Monique Botkin (Associate General Counsel, IAA).

The discussion covered a lot of ground, from the basics of what tokenization actually means to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) innovation exemption, custody considerations, DeFi’s[1] structural relationship with tokenized securities, and enforcement durability.[2] The conversation became especially forward-looking when Matt closed by asking each panelist to look ahead and describe what the tokenization sector could look like by this time next year.

Their answers were both bold and varied. Here are five predictions for tokenization in 2027.

1. Every Investment Adviser Will Have a Digital Asset Strategy

Monique Botkin didn’t mince words: “By this time next year, every investment adviser, asset manager will have a digital asset strategy, either how they are planning to launch their own fund, either a registered fund or private fund, or manage assets that are tokenized or digital assets.” 

This tracks with themes discussed throughout the panel. As Monique noted, the IAA’s 500-plus members manage approximately $57 trillion in assets, and some firms have already tokenized products. The recent SEC relief allowing investment advisers to use state trust companies as custodians of digital assets has removed a significant compliance barrier. And with the new DTC/Nasdaq rule enabling advisers to direct brokers to trade a tokenized version rather than the traditional one, the spotlight will shine brighter on how tokenization interplays with an adviser’s fiduciary duty. The question is no longer whether advisers will engage with digital assets, but how.

2. The Innovation Exemption Is Going to Happen

Amanda Tuminelli projected that “we do get an innovation exemption at some point in the near future and that it does help us decide how the Exchange Act definitions apply to permissionless systems.” 

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, a featured speaker at Crypto with Katten, and Chairman Paul S. Atkins have both signaled strong interest in creating exemptions from certain broker-dealer and exchange rules for tokenized products and protocols. While the exemption was paused, much to the surprise of the industry, the panel consensus was that it’s a matter of when, not if. As Billy Miller observed, the SEC has a “hard job ahead of them to thread the needle” between benefiting existing regulated businesses and enabling innovation for new platforms. But the regulatory appetite is clearly there, and much of Amanda’s work is focused on matters arising from the CLARITY Act,[3] suggesting that the broader legislative framework is moving in the same direction.

3. Tokenization Will Become Standard for Stock Offerings

Billy Miller expects “to see tokenization become more of a standard implemented feature for stock offerings, whether they’re initial or secondary.” 

Coming from the COO of Securitize, which operates a transfer agency, a broker-dealer and an alternative trading system (ATS), this prediction carries practical weight. Billy framed tokenization not as something novel, but as the latest evolution in how we represent securities ownership: from physical stock certificates, to book entry, to tokens on a blockchain. The benefits are clear: globally accessible investor bases, 24/7 transaction capabilities, digital settlement via stablecoins, and elimination of back-office friction. Securitize’s curated work with leading asset managers demonstrates the model at an institutional scale. As states begin specifically calling out blockchain technology tokens as representations for shares and issuers amend their own articles to accommodate tokenization, Billy expects this to become standard across the board. 

4. The Industry Will Be on Track to Hit the Trillions

Billy also noted that “I do expect this industry to hit the trillions within a few-year period.” 

Consider the trajectory: the industry of actual tokenized securities has grown from a few hundred million to $30-plus billion. That’s still a drop in the bucket compared to the global addressable market, but the momentum is undeniable. Every major player is looking at tokenization, including the Depository Trust Company (DTC) and Nasdaq, as well as broker-dealers flooding the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) with inquiries. As Norm Reed pointed out, faster settlement (minutes or hours instead of days), freed-up collateral, and new products like intraday repos are all unlocked by this technology. The use cases in tokenized money market funds for collateral, stablecoin reserves, and broader distribution are already gaining traction. A trillion-dollar tokenized securities market isn’t aspirational—it’s the logical next step.

5. We Are in the Midst of a Technological Revolution in Financial Services

Norm Reed’s prediction was the most sweeping: “We’re in the midst of a technological revolution in the financial services industry. It’s going to be beneficial to pretty much everyone except for some firms that will [. . . ] probably be disintermediated. But that’s not a bad thing for investors and that’s probably a good thing for the markets.” 

Norm brought a unique historical lens to this claim. Having spent eight years at the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) as General Counsel of Omgeo LLC, where all institutional trades settle, he witnessed firsthand the limitations of infrastructure that is, as he put it, “essentially the technology that put men on the moon in 1969.” The fragmented workflows, $9 billion in annual fail costs, the endless data re-entry and reconciliation — all of it built on mainframe computers and COBOL code that is three generations old. A shared, synchronized ledger solves these problems structurally. And as Norm reminded us, the SEC embraced electronic trading in the 1980s despite resistance from the floor. Reg ATS and the rest followed. This is that moment again.

The Bottom Line

What stood out about these predictions is that none of the panelists hedged. Each one, from an exchange director to a DeFi advocate, a platform operator to an investment adviser trade association leader, expressed confidence that tokenization is crossing over from promise to practice. The regulatory tailwinds, institutional adoption, technological maturity and legislative momentum are all converging.

Katten will continue watching these developments closely and will revisit how these predictions hold up as the tokenization market evolves.