Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says real-world assets (RWAs), not meme coins, will drive crypto's next growth as tokenization gains support from major institutions.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev believes the next phase of crypto growth will not be driven by meme coins but by RWAs. As tokenized stocks, private assets, and funds gain institutional support, Tenev says blockchain is evolving into the infrastructure that could power the future of global financial markets.
Speaking in a recent interview with CNBC, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the future of crypto lies in assets that have real economic value rather than tokens created without any underlying utility.
"I believe that the future of crypto is in real-world assets."
According to Tenev, the next stage of blockchain adoption will include tokenized stocks, futures, and private market investments, allowing traditional financial products to move on-chain.
He added that everything running on traditional financial rails will eventually become tokenized, as crypto and traditional finance continue to come together.
While he believes Bitcoin will remain an important part of the market, Tenev said the biggest growth will come from assets with real value and utility. He also questioned the need for millions of meme coins, saying crypto is now becoming the infrastructure that will power future financial markets.
Tenev's comments come as institutional interest in tokenized assets continues to grow rapidly.
The RWA sector is now valued at around $63.9 billion, while tokenized assets across public blockchains have already crossed $320 billion. Citigroup estimates the tokenized asset market could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030.
Some of the world's largest financial institutions are also expanding into the sector. BlackRock has launched tokenized investment products.
This growing demand is one of the main reasons many analysts now view RWAs as one of the fastest-growing areas in the crypto industry.
Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, RWAs represent ownership of real assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate and private funds. By bringing these assets onto blockchain networks, investors can settle trades faster, reduce costs, and gain easier access to global markets.
As institutions continue moving toward tokenization, several blockchain projects are already building the infrastructure needed to support this shift.
Ondo Finance has emerged as one of the biggest players in the sector, controlling more than 70% of the tokenized equities market while managing over $3.6 billion in total value locked (TVL).
The platform connects traditional financial products with decentralized finance, making tokenized securities easier to access and trade.
At the time of writing, ONDO was trading around $0.33 reflecting nearly 0% change over the past day.
Another key player is Chainlink, which provides the data infrastructure behind many tokenized assets. The network delivers real-time pricing and proof-of-reserve data that allow institutions to verify the assets backing tokenized products.
One of its users includes Amundi, Europe's largest asset manager, with approximately €2.3 trillion in assets under management. LINK was trading near $8, down around 0.33% over the past week. It is up over 8% over the week, CoinMarketCap data shows.
Algorand is also gaining traction as an enterprise blockchain for tokenized assets. Platforms such as Lofty AI have surpassed $100 million in TVL on Algorand, allowing investors to buy fractional ownership in rental properties.
As of now, ALGO is trading around $0.08794, down about 3% in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, River is taking a different approach by acting as a liquidity layer for tokenized assets. The protocol allows users to lock Bitcoin, Ethereum and liquid staking tokens as collateral to mint its stablecoin, satUSD, creating additional ways to access on-chain liquidity. At the time of publishing this piece, River was trading around $3.88, down roughly 5.1% during the day.
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