Author: Climber, CryptoPulse Labs
Over the past few years, the crypto industry has seen multiple waves of hype around DeFi, NFTs, and memes, but what truly prompted Wall Street to enter en masse was RWA. The global RWA market size has now surpassed $30 billion.
In recent days, traditional financial giants such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and JPMorgan Chase have been actively entering the space—from tokenized funds and on-chain money market products to tokenized stocks and on-chain yield instruments—gradually moving traditional financial markets onto the blockchain.
The true significance behind this goes far beyond simply launching a few on-chain products—it’s more like a foundational upgrade to the global financial system.
I. BlackRock Continues to Expand: On-chain Funds Begin to Integrate with Traditional Finance
In this wave of tokenization, BlackRock remains the most closely watched actor.
On May 12, BlackRock submitted a new application for a tokenized fund structure to the U.S. SEC, continuing to select the digital assets platform Securitize to provide on-chain infrastructure support.
The main focus this time is not just on tokenizing funds, but on the formal integration of on-chain assets with traditional financial regulatory systems.
Under the latest architecture, on-chain fund share ownership records will be integrated with a regulated transfer agent system and investor access framework.
This means that, in the future, users' fund shares held on-chain will no longer be merely data on the blockchain, but will be directly integrated into the U.S. regulated fund registration system.
In the past, many traditional institutions were interested in blockchain but remained concerned about how on-chain assets could meet regulatory requirements. Now, BlackRock is attempting to integrate on-chain assets directly into the traditional financial framework, meaning the institutional barrier between on-chain finance and traditional finance is gradually being broken down.
In fact, BlackRock has already begun positioning itself in the tokenized market.
As early as 2024, the BUIDL fund launched by BlackRock in collaboration with Securitize became one of the most successful tokenized product cases in the industry. Its assets under management have since grown to approximately $2.3 billion, marking a significant milestone for institutional entry into on-chain finance.
Many people once thought tokenization was just repackaging, but what Wall Street truly values is the financial efficiency brought by blockchain.
Traditional financial markets involve numerous intermediaries—from banks and brokers to clearinghouses—each layer adding time and fees. Blockchain’s greatest advantage is enabling real-time settlement, transparent record-keeping, and 24/7 liquidity on a global scale.
For large asset management institutions, if future funds, bonds, and money market products can all be tokenized on-chain, the operational efficiency of the entire financial market could be fundamentally transformed.
II. Franklin Templeton Partners with Kraken: Tokenized Stocks and On-Chain Yield Products Accelerate Deployment
In addition to BlackRock, Franklin Templeton’s recent activities are also worth noting.
Recently, Franklin Templeton announced a partnership with Payward, the parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, to jointly explore on-chain tokenization opportunities for traditional financial products.
This partnership covers a broad range of areas, including tokenized stocks, compliant custody, actively managed yield products, and institutional-grade crypto liquidity services.
The most critical point is that both parties are exploring the launch of on-chain versions of Franklin financial products. In other words, certain traditional funds, income products, or even securities may soon circulate directly as on-chain tokens.
This represents a significant industry shift: previously, the crypto industry actively approached traditional finance, but now traditional finance is also actively moving toward the crypto market.
In particular, Kraken’s tokenized stocks business, xStocks, has validated market demand, with data showing that its cumulative trading volume has exceeded $30 billion since its launch last year.
This indicates that the global market has more than just a conceptual interest in on-chain securities trading—it reflects real, existing demand.
Traditional securities markets face many issues, such as fixed trading hours, complex cross-border investments, and lengthy settlement cycles. The key advantage of tokenized stocks is that they enable securities to circulate in real time and be traded globally on-chain, just like stablecoins.
Meanwhile, Franklin Templeton is also one of the most proactive traditional asset management firms embracing the cryptocurrency industry. It has already launched several crypto ETFs, issued the tokenized money market fund BENJI, and partnered with Ondo Finance to develop on-chain financial products.
These actions clearly show that an increasing number of traditional financial institutions no longer view blockchain as a niche market, but rather as a vital component of the future financial system.
Three: JPMorgan Advances On-Chain Money Market Funds: The On-Chain Dollar Ecosystem Is Taking Shape
Compared to BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, JPMorgan’s approach is more focused on on-chain U.S. dollar liquidity infrastructure.
On May 12, JPMorgan filed documentation for the JPMorgan OnChain Liquidity-Token Money Market Fund (ticker: JLTXX), planning to launch its second tokenized money market fund.
The fund will issue digital tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, with the underlying assets primarily consisting of U.S. Treasury securities and repurchase agreements.
This type of product is well worth attention, as money market funds are essentially close to institutional-grade stablecoins.
It is backed by high-liquidity, low-risk assets such as cash and U.S. Treasuries, while also generating potential returns. Now, an increasing number of institutions are exploring ways to move these assets onto the blockchain.
The reason is actually very simple.
Stablecoins address payment issues, while on-chain money market funds address yield generation.
In the past, large amounts of on-chain USD funds could only remain in stablecoin accounts, making it difficult to earn stable returns. However, if users in the future can directly invest on-chain USD into tokenized money market funds, a complete closed-loop on-chain USD financial system will be established.
This is also why an increasing number of traditional banks are beginning to take an interest in on-chain finance—they have realized that blockchain is not merely a cryptographic technology, but could become a new settlement network for the global financial system of the future.
Over the past year, tokenized U.S. Treasuries have become one of the fastest-growing segments in the entire RWA market. JPMorgan’s continued advancement of on-chain money market funds signifies that major banks are now formally participating in the construction of the on-chain dollar ecosystem.
Conclusion
Looking back at the past few years in the crypto industry, it's clear that the entire market has undergone significant changes.
Early industry discussions focused more on blockchain performance, DeFi mining, NFT trends, and meme coin speculation. Now, an increasing amount of capital and institutions are turning their attention to on-chain U.S. Treasuries, tokenized funds, on-chain securities, and institutional-grade financial infrastructure.
This means the crypto industry is gradually shifting from a high-risk speculative market toward the construction of a new financial system, and RWA is becoming one of the most important themes in this phase.