DeFi could reach $2.7T by 2030 as tokenization expands

Standard Chartered expects assets locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) to grow 37-fold to $2.7 trillion by the end of 2030. The bank says the expansion will be driven by both tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) and crypto-native assets moving through onchain protocols.

Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research, wrote, "I think the next opportunity for generational wealth in digital assets is going to come via the DeFi protocols," and added, "I estimate that the amount of tokenized assets active in DeFi will 37x by the end of 2030." Kendrick noted that only 3% of stablecoins and 10% of tokenized RWAs are currently used in DeFi.

He projected the share of tokenized assets used in DeFi to rise to 30% by the end of 2030, up from about 3.5% today. The forecast reflects growing institutional expectations that tokenization could channel more capital into DeFi, but reaching $2.7 trillion would require onchain assets to grow rapidly and the share of tokenized value used in DeFi protocols to rise nearly ninefold.

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