Tokenization Boom Takes Center Stage at Davos 2026 as Market Exceeds $21 Billion
Almost four days into the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the strongest and most consistent theme for crypto has been the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs).
The event commenced on Monday, January 19, 2026, and will go on until Friday, January 23, with more Binance founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), also in the lineup.
Tokenization Emerges as Crypto’s Dominant Theme at Davos 2026WEF-related publications continue to describe 2026 as an “inflection point” for digital assets. They argue that blockchain has moved beyond pilot programs and into live production.
Rather than revisiting long-running debates about whether digital assets belong in the financial system, Davos 2026 focused on how they are being integrated.
The conversation has moved from ideology and speculation to infrastructure, scalability, and enterprise-grade deployment.
In that sense, tokenization was widely framed as the mechanism through which blockchain technology is quietly embedding itself into TradFi.
This shift was evident across high-level panels, including sessions titled “Is Tokenization the Future?” and “Where Are We on Stablecoins?”
Is Tokenization the Future? @cnbcKaren (@CNBC), @brian_armstrong (@coinbase), @bgarlinghouse (@ripple), Valérie Urbain ( @EuroclearGroup), François Villeroy de Galhau (@banquedefrance), Bill Winters (@StanChart) #WEF26 https://t.co/Ob8n7PCh1T
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 21, 2026These discussions brought together senior figures, including Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Others included officials from the European Central Bankand representatives from major financial institutions.
Panelists emphasized tokenization’s ability to make traditionally illiquid assets (equities, bonds, funds, and real estate) tradable on-chain. This was aimed at enabling fractional ownership, improving liquidity, and reducing cross-border settlement friction.
Institutions including BlackRock, BNY Mellon, and Euroclear are now deploying tokenized products at scale. This reflects a broader convergence between banks and blockchains.
Regulatory clarity achieved in 2025, particularly in the US and parts of Europe, was repeatedly cited as the catalyst enabling this transition.
Stablecoins also played a prominent role as the connective tissue between TradFi and DeFi systems. Often described as the first truly universal blockchain use case, stablecoins were positioned as foundational infrastructure for payments, treasury management, and on-chain settlement.
With clearer global frameworks emerging, including references to the US GENIUS Act, stablecoins are increasingly viewed as complementary to, rather than disruptive of, existing financial rails.