From Wall Street to Blockchain: Why Traditional Funds Are Taking Notice of Tokenization

CARIDUIT.ID - In 2023, BlackRock, an asset manager overseeing $10 trillion, launched a tokenized asset fund on the Ethereum blockchain. This move sent a signal to the entire financial world: the era of digital assets has transitioned from a marginal trend to the mainstream. 

Why have conservative institutional investors, who have worked with traditional instruments for decades, suddenly turned their attention to blockchain? The answer lies in a generational shift and technological evolution that is rewriting the rules of the real estate market.

Generation Z: Investors Who Trust Code More Than Institutions

Billions of dollars are gradually passing into the hands of Millennials and Generation Z—digital natives who grew up with a smartphone in hand. For them, buying stocks through Robinhood or crypto assets through Binance has become as natural as opening a bank deposit was for their parents. A Fidelity study shows that 45% of investors aged 18-35 already own digital assets, compared to just 6% among those over 65.

"Younger generations don't want to deal with complex financial products hidden behind a wall of intermediaries," says financial analyst Kevin Morris from Bernstein Research. "They value transparency, accessibility, and control. Blockchain gives them all three components: they can check the transaction history at any time, the minimum entry threshold is often just a few dollars, and the assets are held in their own wallet."

From BlackRock to JPMorgan: How Wall Street Giants Are Adopting Tokenization

BlackRock is far from the only player betting on tokenization:

• JPMorgan has been conducting cross-border payments on blockchain since 2020

• Franklin Templeton placed a money market fund on the Polygon blockchain

• Singapore's SC Ventures tokenized company shares on the Avalanche blockchain

"Institutional investors have finally understood that blockchain is not just about cryptocurrencies," explains Sarah Lim, a BCG partner specializing in fintech. "It is an infrastructure that can reduce operational costs by 30-40% by eliminating intermediaries, speed up settlements from days to seconds, and create entirely new asset classes."

ESTEX at the Crossroads of Traditional Assets and Blockchain Technology

The ESTEX.ORG platform found itself in the right place at the right time, offering precisely the product that meets the demands of both the new generation of investors and institutional players. "We are not creating virtual assets—we are providing a digital representation of real, tangible objects," emphasizes ESTEX founder Alexander Farrow. "Our platform is becoming a bridge between the world of traditional real estate and distributed ledger technologies."

Key advantages of ESTEX that are attracting the attention of large funds:

• Legal structure using SPVs (Special Purpose Vehicles)

• EstraMatch AI algorithm for analyzing the investment appeal of properties

• The ability for fractional ownership of premium real estate

The Future of REITs: How Tokenization Will Change the Real Estate Trust Market

"Tokenization could do for REITs what ETFs did for traditional funds," predicts Michael Chen, Managing Director of Alternative Investments at Morgan Stanley. "We will see a transition from large, inflexible structures to micro-REITs, where each property will be represented by a separate token."

Experts identify three key changes in the REIT structure over the next 5-10 years:

1. Asset Fractionalization — Instead of owning entire buildings, funds will be able to own shares in hundreds of properties worldwide, significantly diversifying risks.

2. Increased Liquidity — A secondary market for tokenized shares will operate 24/7, unlike traditional exchange platforms.

3. Cost Reduction — Automation through smart contracts will reduce administration and legal support costs.

"ESTEX is already demonstrating what the future of REITs might look like," notes financial analyst Elena Frolova. "Their platform allows for the creation of thematic real estate pools for example, only logistics centers or resort hotels and managing them with unprecedented efficiency."

A New Investment Paradigm

Wall Street's move to blockchain is not just a technological upgrade. It is a paradigm shift, comparable in scale to the transition from physical stock certificates to electronic trading. The tokenization of assets is creating a new financial landscape where the boundaries between traditional and alternative investments are blurring, and access to the planet's best assets is becoming democratized.

Platforms like ESTEX are at the forefront of these changes, offering infrastructure that meets the requirements of both the new generation of investors and conservative institutional players. As Alexander Farrow notes: "We are not just building a platform we are creating the future standard for real estate ownership."