For Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, global finance is only at the start of a structural shift that will move most financial assets onto blockchain. At Hong Kong FinTech Week, he shared how stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets (RWAs) will reshape capital efficiency, liquidity, and the role of banks in the next decade. Stablecoins as the foundation Stablecoin technology, Kendrick said, would link the digital-asset world with traditional finance. “For the first time, digital assets are starting to disrupt traditional finance,” he said, comparing the change to Uber’s effect on taxis. Until recently, crypto traded largely with itself through decentralised exchanges and lending protocols. The rise of stablecoins and tokenised RWAs, he argued, marks the moment digital finance begins to influence mainstream markets. He expects stablecoin market capitalisation—currently about $300 billion—to grow to $2 trillion within three years. Much of this expansion, he said, will come from individuals in emerging markets seeking protection from inflation. “For the first time globally, everyone with a VPN has access to a US-dollar-based bank account,” he noted, pointing out that many stablecoins are fully backed by US Treasury bills and are “safer than bank deposits.” Corporates are also recognising the potential of tokenised money. Kendrick said he is increasingly fielding calls from multinational firms seeking to understand how stablecoins can make global treasury operations more efficient. “Stablecoins are instantaneous, global, 24/7, super-trustworthy, super-liquid,” he said. “Banks like ours can help via the stablecoin leg to create capital efficiency.” He offered a simple example: a company holding cash in multiple countries can replace static balances with tokenised liquidity, reducing the amount of working capital required. Even if only 10 per cent of global payments and foreign-exchange activity moved on-chain, the impact on market efficiency would be “massive.” The next wave: tokenised assets Stablecoins, Kendrick said, are only the first phase. He forecasts that by 2028 the value of tokenised RWAs will reach around $2 trillion, roughly equal to the stablecoin market by then. He expects $750 billion each in tokenised money-market funds and US-listed equities, with another $500 billion spread across private markets and commodities. The logic is straightforward. Companies that conduct payments on-chain will want to hold their short-term investments on-chain, allowing them to switch between liquidity and yield in real time. “If corporates have on-chain stablecoin balances, they’ll want tokenised money-market funds alongside them,” Kendrick said. This is already visible in pilot projects from BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton. As liquidity builds, Kendrick expects equity markets to follow. He noted that several firms, including Robinhood and Ondo, are developing on-chain versions of US equities. Once these markets become liquid and trade 24 hours a day, traditional fund managers will have little choice but to participate. “If you’re an asset manager and there’s a liquid 24/7 market, you’ll be forced to go on-chain,” he said. Kendrick emphasised that this shift will not eliminate traditional finance but will merge it with decentralised systems. Banks will remain central because of their balance-sheet strength and client relationships, but technology will redefine how those relationships work. Standard Chartered’s digital finance strategy Standard Chartered has been building this bridge through its SC Ventures arm. The bank has incubated Zodia Markets and Zodia Custody to provide regulated trading and safekeeping, and Libeara to develop tokenisation solutions. Kendrick described the approach as a mix of partnership and internal innovation. “We create solutions locally, partly with partnerships, partly with SC Ventures, and then have them plug into local conditions and feed back to the global,” he said. This decentralised development model allows Standard Chartered to adapt to differing regulatory requirements in each jurisdiction while maintaining consistency at a group level. As markets mature, the bank aims to integrate these regional networks into a unified framework capable of supporting global token flows. The regulatory equation Kendrick identified regulatory clarity as the main determinant of how quickly tokenisation will advance. He welcomed developments such as the Genius Act in the US and MiCA in Europe but cautioned that inconsistent rules across markets could slow adoption. “Regulatory clarity and consistency would be super helpful,” he said. “Without it, non-bank firms and fintechs may dominate while banks face constraints.” He added that regulators’ decisions will influence who controls the infrastructure of the future financial system. Clear frameworks would enable trusted, regulated banks to lead; without them, decentralised players will capture more of the market. “The outcome will be the same for the end user, you will have a lot of assets, and over time most assets in finance will go on-chain. The only question is who owns that space and how regulated it is.” Hong Kong poised to become a regional on-chain hub Hong Kong’s decision to promote digital-asset development signals a timely bid to regain leadership in North-East Asia. Kendrick describes the shift as a strategic opening for the city to position itself at the forefront of digital finance. “It’s opportune now for Hong Kong to embrace digital assets and probably become the leader in the region,” he said. Standard Chartered is working with local regulators and fintech partners to bring the on-chain solutions it deploys globally to clients in Hong Kong, supporting initiatives such as Project Ensemble, which explores tokenised interbank settlement. He added that Hong Kong’s open stance could attract international investors seeking a regulated gateway into Asia’s on-chain economy. With supportive policy and established banking infrastructure, the city could become a key node in global tokenisation flows. The tokenisation era accelerates Kendrick’s research projects that the tokenised-asset market will expand from about $35 billion today to roughly $2 trillion by 2028, a fifty-seven-fold increase. He said that every major phase of financial innovation has taken longer to start than expected but accelerated once critical mass was reached. In his view, the tokenisation era is only starting to gather pace. “The disruption of traditional finance by digital assets is now inevitable,” he said. “It is cheaper, faster, more efficient, and operates 24/7 with instant settlement. The foundation has been laid. What happens next depends on how quickly the world decides to build on it.”
