The total value locked in DeFi protocols could rise to $2.7 trillion by the end of 2030, according to Jeffrey Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, as reported by Cointelegraph.
Kendrick forecasts a 37-fold growth in the sector, driven primarily by real-world assets (RWA) and the development of on-chain protocols.
He noted that currently, only 3% of the stablecoin supply and 10% of RWAs are utilized in DeFi. By 2030, the share of these assets in protocols could increase to 30%.
Scaling the market to $2.7 trillion will require a ninefold increase in the proportion of tokenized value in DeFi. However, industry experts point to potential challenges. Chris Kim, CEO of Axis, warned that issuing the same asset across different blockchains creates fragmented liquidity and raises costs.
Oya Celiktemur, sales director at Ondo Finance, believes that tokenization alone does not magically make illiquid assets liquid.
Standard Chartered also highlighted Uniswap as a potential hub for trading RWAs. Kendrick emphasized that institutional players are likely to choose this platform due to its reputation and security. He stated that partnerships with traditional finance could help Uniswap close the market capitalization gap with Coinbase.
In June, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan mentioned that advisors have shifted their interest from Bitcoin to stablecoins and RWAs.