Firms Representing Over $4B Signal Shift from Hype to Utility
Speaking at the Consensus Hong Kong conference on February 11, 2026, executives from asset tokenization firms Securitize and Ondo Finance declared that the sector's future growth depends on delivering tangible utility rather than relying on market speculation. Graham Ferguson, head of ecosystem at Securitize, and Min Lin, managing director of global expansion at Ondo, emphasized that while institutional interest is high, the industry must now focus on building functional, compliant, and capital-efficient products.
Securitize Cites Compliance as Key Hurdle for $2.2B BUIDL Fund
Despite strong demand from companies looking to tokenize assets, regulatory compliance and distribution remain significant bottlenecks. Ferguson highlighted the challenges in making tokenized products available on exchanges and within DeFi protocols in a way that satisfies global regulations. Securitize, which partnered with BlackRock on its over $2.2 billion BUIDL tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, finds that communicating compliance requirements to on-chain partners is a primary operational hurdle.
There’s no shortage of firms, of issuers, of companies that are interested in tokenizing. But it’s on us to figure out how to distribute these assets on-chain via exchanges in a way that is compliant, regulatory-friendly globally.
— Graham Ferguson, Head of Ecosystem at Securitize.
Ondo's DeFi Collateral Unlocks New Capital Efficiency
Ondo Finance, which has secured approximately $2 billion in total value locked (TVL), is demonstrating the utility-first approach by integrating its products deeper into the DeFi ecosystem. Min Lin pointed to Ondo's recent move to allow its tokenized stocks and ETFs to be used as margin collateral in decentralized perpetuals trading—a first for the industry. This innovation directly addresses the need for greater capital efficiency and provides a concrete example of how tokenized assets can offer advantages beyond fast settlement and programmable compliance. According to both speakers, this focus on functional use cases is what will drive the next wave of adoption.
