ARK Invest Backs Securitize with $10 Million Investment, Signaling Confidence in RWA Tokenization

Executive Summary

ARK Invest's recent $10 million investment in Securitize signals increasing institutional confidence in real-world asset tokenization, a sector experiencing significant growth and drawing major financial players.

The Event in Detail

ARK Invest, through its ARK Venture Fund, has acquired an approximate $10 million stake in Securitize, a specialist in tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) utilizing blockchain technology. This investment positions Securitize as the eighth-largest holding within the ARK Venture Fund. Securitize is recognized for issuing over $4.6 billion in tokenized assets and is the technological backbone for significant institutional offerings, including BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL). The company provides compliant infrastructure designed to integrate traditional finance with blockchain innovation, offering end-to-end solutions for asset tokenization, investor onboarding, and the issuance and trading of digital securities. U.S. self-directed investors can access the ARK Venture Fund via platforms like SoFi or Titan mobile applications.

Financial Mechanics and Market Growth

The investment highlights a rapidly expanding market for tokenized assets. The total value of tokenized assets has doubled this year, reaching $33 billion, with projections indicating a potential surge to $18.9 trillion by 2033. As of mid-2025, the RWA tokenization market stands at $24 billion, reflecting a 308% growth over three years. Institutional tokenization projects represent a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $65 billion in 2025. Tokenized Treasury and money-market fund assets have reached $7.4 billion in 2025, an 80% jump year-to-date, with BlackRock's BUIDL fund leading among RWA issuers with $2.397 billion in value. This fund, tokenized by Securitize, has also been accepted as collateral on major crypto exchanges like Crypto.com and Deribit, further solidifying its role in on-chain finance. Securitize, through its subsidiaries, operates as an SEC-registered broker-dealer, digital transfer agent, fund administrator, and operator of a regulated Alternative Trading System (ATS).

Business Strategy and Market Positioning

Securitize's strategy aligns with a broader trend of bridging traditional finance (TradFi) with Web3. By offering compliant infrastructure and end-to-end tokenization solutions, Securitize facilitates institutional entry into the digital asset space. Its partnerships with major asset managers such as BlackRock, Apollo, Hamilton Lane, and KKR, along with its SEC registrations, underscore its commitment to operating within established financial frameworks. This approach contrasts with earlier, less regulated blockchain initiatives, positioning Securitize as a critical enabler for Wall Street's push into on-chain finance. The company's focus on making typically illiquid assets, like private credit and U.S. Treasuries, more accessible through tokenization attracts a wider range of investors and expands market opportunities for financial services.

Broader Market Implications

This investment by ARK Invest, alongside existing backing from BlackRock, is poised to accelerate mainstream adoption and development within the RWA tokenization sector. The increasing involvement of prominent financial institutions signals a maturation of the digital asset landscape, blurring the lines between TradFi and DeFi. The growth in tokenized treasuries and money market funds demonstrates a demand for on-chain cash management and the use of tokenized assets as collateral in permissioned DeFi protocols. While the regulatory landscape remains fragmented in the U.S., initiatives like Europe's MiCA regulation are advancing, providing clearer frameworks for token issuance. The continued institutional push drives real assets on-chain beyond pilot phases toward operational scale, enhancing liquidity and reducing settlement times from traditional T+2 to near-instantaneous T+0/atomic for many operations. However, liquidity for tokenized assets, though growing, remains limited compared to traditional markets, such as the $20 trillion U.S. Treasury market. The integration with stablecoins further enables instant settlement capabilities, positioning tokenization as a foundational element for the next evolution of financial markets.