Citrini tokenization report favors fee collectors over bitcoin and ether

Citrini Research published a 79-page tokenization report Thursday proposing two investment baskets: one of publicly traded stocks and one of crypto tokens.

The report, titled Breaking the Wall, argues that Wall Street's move onto blockchains creates new businesses in trading, lending and payments. CoinDesk reports Citrini's conclusion is that bitcoin and ether are not the best way to own the shift.

The report highlights Securitize (SECZ), Coinbase, Robinhood and Circle on the listed side, according to CoinDesk. It is most interested in businesses that stand to earn fees as more of Wall Street moves onchain. Securitize maintains the legal link between blockchain tokens and the securities they represent, while Coinbase and Robinhood offer exposure through trading platforms and blockchain infrastructure. Circle could benefit from demand for its USDC stablecoin to settle transactions.

Citrini also mentions Figure Technology Solutions for tokenized lending, SoFi for stablecoin payments, and Bullish, CoinDesk's parent company, which is acquiring share registrar Equiniti.

"We can't assume that majors, primarily BTC and ETH, will make new ATHs on this," the report said, referring to all-time highs. "Even if they do, there are better expressions."

Securitize, the report's clearest pure-play, posted tokenized assets at a record $4.3 billion in its first public report since listing. Tokenization fees shrank and its net loss widened, which suggests the fee line has not yet become a growth line. The standard for register-linked tokenized equities, as this publication argued in September, will be decided by who owns the register — the asset Bullish is buying with Equiniti.

The coverage does not list the constituents of the crypto-token basket or indicate how much of either portfolio would sit in a single name.