Mona El Isa

The next evolution in tokenized finance is already unfolding, and it goes deeper than most realize.

Crypto has gained recognition as an asset class, but holding tokens was never the full story. Stablecoins accelerated adoption by creating a liquid, interoperable base layer for value transfer.

Then came tokenized ETFs and funds, bringing familiar wrappers onchain. But most of these products still rely on offchain processes: traditional issuance mechanics, centralized NAV, and legacy custody setups.

They introduced structure, but not autonomy.

What comes next is full-stack financial instruments: term deposits, tokenized ETNs, convertible notes, bonds, stocks… all built with logic encoded from day one.

This isn’t theoretical anymore. Over $7B in tokenized treasuries are already live. Structured yield products are moving from pilot to production. Reinsurance deals are being executed onchain.

And the best part is, this is only the beginning. @enzymefinance already powers this evolution.

If you’re still building funds the old way, you might want to read this.

The @Hedgeweek Digital Assets Summit last week brought together a fascinating cross-section of finance from hedge funds to onchain-native teams, and it was a rare chance to speak with people on both sides of the fund infrastructure conversation. One theme kept surfacing: tokenized funds are becoming a serious alternative.

Here’s my take on this subject 👇
Legacy fund structures are under pressure, and it’s starting to show.

The cracks have been visible for a while: rising costs, painfully slow operations, poor transparency, and a level of rigidity that makes innovation feel impossible. Investors are stuck with one-size-fits-all templates that can’t adapt to modern capital needs. When it comes to interoperability or composability, they fall short, siloed systems aren’t built for modern financial infrastructure.

💡 What we’re seeing now is a shift in expectations. Asset managers, DAOs, treasuries, and institutions are no longer willing to accept that setting up a fund should take months, or that tailoring a strategy should be prohibitively complex and resource-heavy. As the limitations of legacy structures become more apparent, tokenized funds are stepping into the spotlight.

According to recent reports, the market for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) reached $17.88 billion as of March 2025, up from $10 billion in 2024. This growth is driven by the appeal of enhanced transparency, reduced costs, and improved operational efficiency.

In this context, two clear paths are emerging:
→ Launch an off tokenized share-class of an off-chain fund, purpose-built for modern finance with vault technology
→ Bring everything on-chain and unlock programmable capabilities to run on-chain strategies with DeFi technology.

Both paths lead to more transparency, faster execution, lower costs, and more flexible strategy design. In the case of the latter, you also eliminate counterparty risk.

Both are possible with @enzymefinance

I first came across @jerallaire (even though he is not in the picture, he was there!) at the World Economic Forum @Davos in 2018, when @enzymefinance, (known as Melon back then), was nominated as a Tech Pioneer.

I thought I already knew how game‑changing @circle #USDC was going to be for DeFi back then, but even my expectations were surpassed this past Friday with the debut of #CRCL on the NYSE, where shares jumped +250% above the IPO price.

At @avantgardefi, we use USDC in our stable-coin yield strategies, helping holders of cash generate uncorrelated returns from treasuries. But beyond yield:
➡️ Payments and remittances are now far more efficient (reducing friction, cost, and time) empowering those in high‑inflation economies.
➡️ USDC has become a main payment and investment medium in Web3
➡️ USDC facilitates yield opportunities through #DeFi such as lending, borrowing, yield farming, liquidity provision on platforms like @aave, @compoundfinance, and @Uniswap, unlocking wholly new, uncorrelated yield streams.

Watching this evolution from Davos 2018 to NYSE has been both inspiring and validating for those of us building infrastructure for the future of finance. A huge congratulations to Jeremy and the team!

Just picked this up in London 👇

@enzymefinance won Blockchain Tech of the Year at @Hedgeweek Digital Assets Awards.

Honored, proud, and more motivated than ever to keep building for tokenized finance. Let’s go! 😎

🌊 July 1st in Cannes, we’re bringing two worlds together.

Together with @NexusMutual, @enzymefinance is co-hosting an exclusive afterwork on La Croisette for institutional finance professionals.

The aim? To create space for meaningful conversations between traditional finance leaders and DeFi builders, a connection that still feels too rare to me, even in 2025.

• Beach bar, sunset, and sharp minds
• 100–120 handpicked guests
• Asset managers, hedge funds, banks, C-levels, and top-tier crypto infra

If you’re attending @EthCC or nearby and working at this intersection, come join us.

If you’d like to join, find the link in the comments 👇

#ETHCC

I have founded @enzymefinance almost 10 years ago and @Avantgardefi 4 years ago. One of the personal questions I get asked the most is how I’ve avoided burning out with all the ups and downs in the space.

The truth is, I’ve come close a few times. Here are 3 things that helped me, and maybe can help others as well 👇

1. Say no more often.
Don’t let calls, travel & events dominate your calendar. I’ve also found it helpful to block out some quiet thinking time in the calendar each week.

2. Switch off.
When you’re done with work, switch off and take a break from your phone. Do things you enjoy. For me, it's spending time with family and playing tennis.

3. Breathe.
When I first started doing breathing exercises 5 years ago, I could only hold my breath for 25 seconds. My lung capacity was low and it led to more stress & anxiety. Now, I can hold for 3 minutes. Breathing is the best drug, and it costs nothing.

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

.@coinbase acquiring @DeribitOfficial is a major signal: crypto M&A is heating up.

I wrote back in January that 2025 would be a year of M&As in DeFi, and it’s unfolding fast.

My take on what’s driving it: https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2025/01/13/why-2025-will-be-a-year-of-m-and-a-in-de-fi

Recently joined @CoinDesk to talk about the strange market dislocations we’re seeing, the current DeFi opportunity, and why RWA integration is harder than the headlines suggest.

Listen to the full conversation 👇 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozHuwmQOZjk

When I first entered crypto in 2016, the idea of tokenizing real-world assets (let alone real estate) was something only the boldest whitepapers were talking about.

Now Deloitte is projecting a $4 trillion tokenized real estate market by 2035, with private funds, loans, and even undeveloped land leading the way.

That number doesn’t surprise me. What does surprise me is how fast we’ve reached a point where institutions are not just speculating, but they’re actually building. They’re prototyping, allocating, and launching with tokenization at the core of their infrastructure conversations.

We’re finally past the theory. 👏

This is what excites me most about the work we do at Enzyme, building for a future that traditional finance is now actively moving toward. A future where tokenized products aren’t fringe experiments, but regulated, composable, and institution-ready.

You can read the full @Deloitte report here: