BlackRock’s 2026 Thematic Outlook put Ethereum on the middle of its tokenization thesis, asking whether or not the community might function a “toll highway.”
BlackRock acknowledged that “of tokenized belongings 65%+ are on Ethereum.”
The framing pushes Ethereum into an infrastructure function relatively than a directional name on ETH. A “toll highway” mannequin depends upon the place issuance, settlement and payment cost happen when real-world belongings and tokenized money transfer onchain.
BlackRock noted stablecoin transaction quantity is adjusted to “strip out inorganic exercise (e.g., bots),” citing Coin Metrics and Allium by way of the Visa Onchain Analytics dashboard.
That caveat narrows the metrics traders could depend on when translating tokenization “exercise” into financial throughput.
Ethereum’s share is a transferring goal
A late-January market test reveals why the “65%+” determine must be handled as point-in-time.
RWA.xyz’s directory view put Ethereum’s tokenized RWA market share at 59.84%, with whole worth round $12.8 billion at retrieval on Jan. 22.
RWA.xyz’s networks view additionally reveals Ethereum main by worth, together with a complete worth (excluding stablecoins) of $13,433,002,447, with the desk time-stamped round Jan. 21.
The unfold between these readings and BlackRock’s Jan. 5 determine leaves room for share drift.
That drift can come as issuance expands to different chains and as reporting home windows change.
| Knowledge level | Ethereum worth / share | Timestamp in supply | Supply |
|---|---|---|---|
| BlackRock tokenization slide snapshot | “65%+” of tokenized belongings on Ethereum | As of 1/5/2026 | BlackRock PDF (p. 17) |
| RWA.xyz listing overview | ~$12.8B whole worth, 59.84% market share | Retrieved 1/22/2026 | RWA.xyz Listing |
| RWA.xyz networks desk | $13,433,002,447 (excl. stablecoins) | Desk reveals “as of” 01/22/2026, pack information as-of 01/21/2026 | RWA.xyz Networks |
For ETH holders, the forward-looking subject is much less whether or not establishments tokenize belongings and extra whether or not tokenization routes fee-paying settlement via ETH-bearing paths.
BlackRock’s thesis leans towards Ethereum as a base layer for tokenized belongings. But a base-layer function could be diluted if execution shifts to rollups or if tokenized funds are distributed throughout a number of L1s the place customers don’t contact ETH.
Rollups and payment paths complicate the “toll highway” thesis
L2BEAT’s rollup summary reveals massive swimming pools of worth already “secured” by main Ethereum rollups.
Arbitrum One is listed at $17.52 billion, Base at $12.94 billion, and OP Mainnet at $2.33 billion, every labeled Stage 1.
That structure can protect Ethereum’s settlement function whereas shifting the place customers pay charges everyday.
Rollup execution economics and payment belongings fluctuate by design, and that distinction issues for payment seize even when Ethereum stays the underlying safety layer.
Tokenized money could develop into a significant throughput driver in tokenization portfolios, and it comes with clearer situation math.
Citi’s stablecoin report modeled 2030 issuance at $1.9 trillion in a base case and $4.0 trillion in a bull case.
It paired these balances with a 50x velocity assumption to mannequin roughly $100 trillion and $200 trillion in transaction exercise, respectively.
The mechanical implication is that even modest market-share adjustments in settlement networks can matter if exercise scales to these ranges.
Measurement methodology turns into central if traders attempt to infer payment era from uncooked on-chain flows.
Stablecoin “noise,” multi-chain merchandise and the single-ledger debate
Visa has argued stablecoin switch volumes include “noise.”
In an instance, Visa said last-30-days stablecoin quantity falls from $3.9 trillion to $817.5 billion after eradicating inorganic exercise.
BlackRock’s tokenization slide references the identical idea of stripping bots, tying its narrative to a narrower definition of financial use.
If the “toll highway” is supposed to be monetized via settlement, the investable variable is natural settlement demand that can not be cheaply replicated elsewhere, not headline switch counts.
Multi-chain distribution already seems in institutional product design, which complicates any linear “tokenization equals ETH demand” argument.
BlackRock’s tokenized fund BUIDL is offered on seven blockchains, with cross-chain interoperability enabled by Wormhole.
This helps a survival path for non-Ethereum chains as distribution and venue-specific utility layers, even when Ethereum retains a lead in issuance worth or settlement credibility.
A separate strand of the controversy has centered on whether or not institutional tokenization ends in a single frequent ledger.
Throughout Davos week, that theme circulated on social media through posts that includes remarks from BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.
World Financial Discussion board supplies printed this month assist broader claims about tokenization advantages, together with fractionalization and sooner settlement themes.
Nevertheless, the WEF stops wanting validating that verbatim “single blockchain” language in its digital assets outlook for 2026 and tokenization explainer video.
For Ethereum’s decentralization thesis, the investable stress is whether or not a base layer can stay impartial as tokenization turns into tied to massive issuers and controlled venues.
“Transparency” claims depend upon credible resistance to unilateral change and on settlement finality that downstream layers inherit.
At this time, L2BEAT’s stage framework and value-secured information present rollups scaling beneath Ethereum’s safety umbrella, whereas BUIDL’s multi-chain rollout reveals main issuers additionally lowering platform focus threat.
BlackRock’s “toll highway” slide set a dated market-share marker at 65%+.
Late-January RWA dashboards and multi-chain product releases confirmed the near-term battlefield is share, settlement location, and measurement of natural utilization throughout the RWA sector.
That very same dynamic is prone to form how traders interpret progress in tokenized Treasuries and different on-chain issuance classes.
