A shift is happening on financial markets. But the general public barely notices it. Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that Wall Street’s biggest players are increasingly moving infrastructure to blockchain, while many private and even professional investors still view the industry with skepticism. According to him, there is a gap between perception and reality.
The Financial System Is Gradually Moving to Blockchain
Hougan claims this is not about isolated experiments, but a systemic movement. Large companies are launching tokenized funds, testing settlements in stablecoins, and transferring part of their operations to digital ledgers.
The tokenized assets segment is growing especially fast. According to Bitwise estimates, the total value of tokenized US Treasury bonds, commodity assets, and other instruments is approaching $20 billion. In 2025, this figure increased more than fourfold.
Compared to the traditional securities market, this is still a modest number. But in the context of new infrastructure, the dynamics look sharp.
Why Investors Are Not Responding
Hougan believes the market suffers from the “anchor” effect. Many still perceive the crypto market through the lens of its early stage, when it was associated with enthusiast experiments and high volatility.
As a result, the ongoing changes remain in the shadows. Even crypto investors, he says, do not always believe in the new stage of institutional involvement, since they have heard similar promises before.
However, the situation is different now. In the US, regulators are showing a more constructive approach. The Securities and Exchange Commission is advancing initiatives aimed at moving financial markets into the digital environment. This creates a different environment for large banks and asset managers.
Major Players Are Already Involved
Among notable examples, Hougan mentions the launch of tokenized funds by BlackRock and Apollo. These are products worth billions of dollars.
In addition, several major banks, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, are discussing joint initiatives in the stablecoin sector. This indicates that the interest goes beyond individual projects.
According to Bitwise, the scale of the potential market is enormous. Hundreds of trillions of dollars circulate in traditional funds, stocks, and bonds. Even if tokenization takes only a small share of this volume, the growth could be manifold.
An Opportunity Amid Undervaluation
Hougan’s main point is simple. The gap between what most people think is happening in the industry and what is actually happening creates an investment opportunity.
He emphasizes that it is not about picking individual winners. Rather, it is about forming broad exposure to the infrastructure shift while the market has not yet fully priced it into asset valuations.
While some participants continue to doubt, others are building new rails for capital movement. The question is when perception will catch up with reality.
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