Wall Street's shift to blockchain infrastructure is accelerating faster than most realize, with tokenization moving from niche crypto experiment to mainstream financial plumbing. Edwin Mata, CEO and founder of Brickken, a Barcelona-based tokenization platform, projects that by 2030, traditional finance will operate entirely on blockchain technology, fundamentally reshaping how markets settle trades, record ownership, and manage assets.

The convergence of traditional finance and blockchain is already underway. Major institutions like BlackRock have launched tokenized funds, and companies like Bullish are acquiring infrastructure firms to move shareholder recordkeeping directly onto blockchain rather than using digital "wrappers" that sit on top of legacy systems. Mata told CoinDesk that the language around this shift is changing too; the term "Web3" is fading as banks adopt blockchain as standard financial infrastructure.

What's Driving This Shift Toward On-Chain Finance?

The momentum behind tokenization stems from several converging forces. Brickken alone has facilitated the tokenization of $500 million in real-world assets, serving 200 clients across institutions seeking to move traditional assets like securities, funds, and commodities onto blockchain networks. The appeal is clear: faster settlement times, reduced intermediaries, and transparent ownership records.

However, the next wave of tokenization growth won't be driven by human decision-makers, according to Mata. Instead, artificial intelligence agents will automate asset onboarding and liquidity sourcing. Mata predicts that traditional software dashboards will soon be replaced by simple chat prompts, where AI systems handle the backend work of finding optimal financial yields. "The decision-maker is not going to be us anymore. It's going to be AI," Mata stated.

Mata

How Regulatory Frameworks Are Reshaping the Global Tokenization Race

• European Overregulation: The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework imposes expensive, slow-moving compliance rules that can take nine months to obtain a license, effectively creating barriers for startups while protecting legacy financial institutions.
• U.S. Competitive Advantage: The United States is positioned to dominate tokenization innovation because it controls the world's largest capital market, making current regulatory disputes in Washington temporary noise compared to Europe's structural disadvantages.
• Geographic Shift: Startups facing steep regulatory barriers in Europe may choose to relocate to the UAE and Southeast Asia, fragmenting the global tokenization ecosystem and concentrating innovation outside traditional financial centers.

Mata was direct in his criticism of Europe's regulatory approach. "Smaller players cannot access the market, which creates a moat for the bigger players," he explained. The nine-month licensing timeline is particularly punishing for startups operating on limited runway; without revenue during that period, many simply cannot survive.

"Smaller players cannot access the market, which creates a moat for the bigger players. It can take you nine months to get a license, and if you're a startup, nine months without monetizing, you're dead," said Edwin Mata, CEO and founder of Brickken.

Edwin Mata, CEO and founder of Brickken

Charles Guillemet, CTO of France-based Ledger, shared Mata's concerns about Europe's regulatory framework. He noted that MiCA has unintendedly benefited legacy financial institutions while hampering crypto startups, fundamentally reshaping the competitive landscape of Web3 in Europe.

What Does This Mean for Institutions and Investors?

The shift toward blockchain-native infrastructure has immediate practical implications. Bullish's $4.2 billion acquisition of transfer agent Equiniti signals that major players are moving beyond pilot programs and into production systems. By recording shares directly on-chain from issuance rather than creating synthetic digital representations, institutions can eliminate reconciliation delays and reduce operational complexity.

For institutional investors and financial professionals, the tokenization wave represents a fundamental change in how markets operate. Settlement times will compress, custody arrangements will evolve, and the role of traditional intermediaries will shrink. The integration of AI agents into tokenization platforms suggests that future market participants will need to understand not just blockchain mechanics, but also how automated systems source liquidity and optimize yields.

The race between regions is now clear: the U.S. and Asia-Pacific markets are positioning themselves as hubs for tokenization innovation, while Europe risks falling behind due to regulatory friction. For startups and institutions watching this unfold, the message is stark. The blockchain infrastructure layer is no longer speculative; it's becoming the plumbing of modern finance, and the winners will be those who move fastest in jurisdictions that welcome innovation.