Jefferies said a new round of crypto and blockchain-related public listings could emerge over the next two years as Wall Street firms and payments companies expand their use of digital asset infrastructure. In a report released after its first Digital Assets Investor Conference in New York, the firm said the sector could grow into a $1 trillion public market within five years.
The conference brought together executives from 35 digital asset companies and about 150 institutional investors. Discussion centered less on bitcoin price moves and more on the growing use of blockchain systems inside traditional finance. Jefferies said conversations with clients showed a stronger view that blockchain is moving past experimentation and into core financial infrastructure.
Investor focus shifts to listed beneficiaries of blockchain adoption
According to the report, client engagement is still rising as attention turns toward banks, exchanges, asset managers, fintech firms and payments companies that may benefit from integrating blockchain infrastructure. That view comes as the crypto IPO market has cooled this year after a strong 2025, when several digital asset companies went public during a period of higher bitcoin prices and renewed demand for crypto-linked equities.
Jefferies said the recent slowdown in listings has largely matched broader market volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty. Even so, it expects another wave of offerings later this year. The report specifically mentioned Securitize and Payward, Kraken’s parent company, as firms that are finalizing IPO plans.
Tokenization moves from concept to production
Jefferies identified tokenization as one of the biggest forces behind the shift. The process refers to representing financial assets on blockchain networks. Executives at the conference said tokenized money market funds, private credit products and blockchain-based settlement systems are already entering production after recent regulatory guidance reduced legal uncertainty around digital assets.
That pattern has been showing up across the market in recent months. Large financial institutions including JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, along with traditional fintech companies, have been adopting blockchain technology as part of their business models without tying the case to bitcoin’s short-term price. At this year’s Consensus Miami, tokenization and stablecoins dominated the discussion. Consensys CEO and founder Joseph Lubin said there that the world is moving toward an economy where almost everything will be tokenized.