Citrini Research details tokenization revenue potential in 'Breaking the Wall' report
A 79-page report by Citrini Research argues that tokenized Wall Street assets and AI software agents are driving a shift toward fundamentals in crypto, positioning revenue-generating protocols ahead of bitcoin and ether.
Citrini Research published a 79-page report titled 'Breaking the Wall,' arguing that artificial intelligence agents and tokenized real-world assets have initiated a shift toward fundamental investing in crypto. According to the report, software agents requiring financial rails that never close will drive real protocol usage. The firm cautioned that bitcoin and ether may not capture the strongest upside of this trend, contending that the market will instead reward specific projects that generate direct revenue.[1][2]
The report traced the acceleration of tokenization back to several key milestones throughout the year. In March, when conflict involving Iran escalated over a weekend, Hyperliquid served as one of the few liquid venues available to price crude oil. Following a stalled Senate vote on the CLARITY Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission enacted an innovation exemption for tokenized stocks two days later. Adoption expanded further when Robinhood Chain launched its public mainnet and Stock Tokens in July, and Solana briefly registered more trade processing volume than the New York Stock Exchange in September, though mostly driven by bots and meme pairs.[1][3]
Among specific assets, Citrini highlighted tokens such as Ondo, Aave, Pendle, Aerodrome, Lighter, Derive, Maple, Ether.fi, and Ethena, while discussing corporate initiatives from Coinbase's Base network, Robinhood, and transfer agent Securitize. Despite the momentum, Citrini warned that revenue impact remains early. Robinhood Chain's seven-day payout run rate as of Oct. 6 pointed to roughly $30 million in annualized fees, a figure Citrini noted hardly moves the needle against Robinhood's $1.31 billion in second-quarter net revenue, alongside persistent challenges around fragmented cross-chain liquidity and smart contract risks.[1][2][3]
Key facts
- Citrini Research published a 79-page report titled 'Breaking the Wall,' arguing that tokenized assets and AI agents are making crypto a fundamentals-driven trade.
- Citrini cautioned that bitcoin and ether may not capture the strongest upside from the tokenization trend, pointing instead to protocols that generate direct revenue.
- The report highlighted tokens including Ondo, Aave, Pendle, Aerodrome, Lighter, Derive, Maple, Ether.fi, and Ethena.
- Securitize manages over $4 billion in tokenized assets and was selected by the NYSE in March as the first digital transfer agent eligible for its planned tokenized-securities venue.
- Robinhood Chain's annualized fee estimate stood at approximately $30 million as of Oct. 6, compared to Robinhood's $1.31 billion in second-quarter net revenue.
- Two days after the Senate fell short on the CLARITY Act, the SEC instituted an innovation exemption for trading tokenized stocks.
- The report cited Hyperliquid as a key venue used to price crude oil over a weekend when Iran conflict tensions escalated in March.
Sources · 3 sources
- UN
UnchainedArticle ·
Citrini Research Says Tokenized Assets and AI Agents Make Crypto a Fundamentals Trade Citrini Research published a report on Thursday arguing that AI agents and tokenized assets have opened a new paradigm of “fundamental crypto investing.” In the piece, titled “Breaking The Wall,” the firm wrote that “Blockchains have finally found their raison d’être.” The firm argued that software agents will want financial rails that never close, and that crypto has spent 15 years building them. It also asked whether millions of agents moving deposits toward the highest bidder could leave banks short of the cheap funding they rely on. Get Unchained’s crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter . What Citrini Points To Citrini pointed to several developments. In March, when the Iran conflict escalated over a weekend, traders had few liquid places to price crude oil other than Hyperliquid . Tokenized stocks then began moving between apps and across more chains after Robinhood Chain , which opened its public mainnet in July, introduced its Stock Tokens. The Senate fell short on the CLARITY Act, and two days later the SEC put an innovation exemption in place for trading tokenized stocks. Citrini also said Solana temporarily processed more trades than the NYSE in September, while noting that most of that activity was likely bots and meme pairs. The report said the question for investors should shift from “will tokenization be legal?” to “who captures the economics when these products eventually enter the US?” Where Citrini Sees the Money Citrini said in the report that it does not assume that bitcoin and ether will reach new all-time highs on the theme, and that “there are better expressions.” Its argument is that the market rewards tokens that earn revenue. On the equity side, the firm discussed transfer agent Securitize , which it said has over $4 billion in tokenized assets under management and was the NYSE’s March pick as the first digital transfer agent eligible to serve its planned tokenized-securities venue. It also discussed Coinbase , through its Base network, and Robinhood . Among tokens, it highlighted Aerodrome, Lighter, Derive, Pendle, Ondo, Maple, Ether.fi, Aave and Ethena, and pointed readers to equity and token baskets on its Citrindex. The report was not uniformly bullish. Citrini said Robinhood Chain would earn about $30 million in yearly fees if its past seven days of payouts hold, as of Oct. 6, which it said does not yet move the needle against Robinhood’s $1.31 billion in second-quarter net revenue. It also listed open problems, including liquidity and standards scattered across competing chains and the risk of stock portfolios sitting in technology that could theoretically be hacked without recourse. Related Listen: Should Tokenized Stock Only Come From Issuers? Yes, Says Carlos Domingo The post Citrini Research Says Tokenized Assets and AI Agents Make Crypto a Fundamentals Trade appeared first on Unchained .
Open source - BS
BSCN@BSCNewsPost on X ·
Wall Street's Blockchain Push Puts These Crypto Tokens In Focus Tokenized stocks, bonds and other assets could create new revenue streams for crypto projects, Citrini Research says. The report focuses on projects providing tokenized assets, lending, trading and blockchain infrastructure. Its 79-page report, Breaking the Wall, highlights ethereum:0xfaba6f8e4a5e8ab82f62fe7c39859fa577269be3, ethereum:0x7fc66500c84a76ad7e9c93437bfc5ac33e2ddae9, ethereum:0x1f9840a85d5af5bf1d1762f925bdaddc4201f984, ethereum:0xfe0c30065b384f05761f15d0cc899d4f9f9cc0eb and ethereum:0x808507121b80c02388fad14726482e061b8da827. Citrini cautions that Bitcoin bitcoin:native and Ethereum ethereum:native may not capture the strongest upside from this trend.
Open source - LS
Laura Shin@laurashinPost on X ·
Citrini's new report says adoption of tokenized real-world assets has shifted into higher gear since March, when Hyperliquid became a venue to price crude oil over a weekend. It also says Robinhood Chain's roughly $30 million in yearly fees, based on a seven-day run rate, does not yet move the needle for Robinhood. https://t.co/IMLNQkyHCk
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