Standard Chartered Sees $4 Trillion On-Chain Asset Boom by 2028

Global banking giant Standard Chartered has forecast a significant growth in on-chain tokenized assets by 2028. According to the bank's research, the total value of these assets is expected to reach $4 trillion, with stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA) each accounting for $2 trillion.

The report suggests that DeFi protocols with mature risk management systems and scalability will be the primary beneficiaries of this trend. This is due to their ability to offer 'composability,' allowing users to efficiently utilize assets in multiple ways, such as earning yield, serving as collateral, and maintaining liquidity.

Standard Chartered cites BlackRock's tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, BUIDL, as an example of this concept. The product offers approximately 4% in U.S. Treasury yields and can be converted into sBUIDL, which is usable as collateral in DeFi lending protocols and as a reserve asset for other products.

On-chain stablecoin lending volumes have reached $1.5 to $2 billion daily, demonstrating the increasing adoption of DeFi by traditional financial institutions. Aave's assets under management have rivaled those of the 38th largest bank in the United States, and Coinbase's Bitcoin lending product has a loan portfolio of approximately $1.75 billion.