Ondo Portfolio Chief John Hoffman Says Tokenization Could Mirror ETF Boom Through AI

Ondo’s newly hired portfolio chief John Hoffman compared tokenization to the early days of ETFs before the technology became mainstream, arguing that the convergence of blockchain infrastructure and AI could shape capital markets over the coming decade.

“Tokenization mirrors the $20 trillion ETF boom as blockchain and AI converge, Ondo exec says Tokenization is laying the groundwork for autonomous investing and real-time portfolio management, Ondo's new head of portfolio products John Hoffman said”

@coindesk

Hoffman said in a CoinDesk interview, "The future of markets are onchain," and he described AI agents as needing tokenized assets, trading infrastructure and portfolio strategies to operate autonomously onchain.

@coindesk

He said the tokenized asset market has surpassed $33 billion and could grow into a multi-trillion-dollar industry over the next decade, mirroring the ETF sector’s growth.

Hoffman also tied tokenization to autonomous investing, saying AI agents will eventually become active participants, buying, selling and allocating capital through tokenized investment products.

He added, "Every market that digitizes gets larger," and framed tokenization as "the digitization of capital markets."

The same tokenization push is showing up in product rollouts tied to major IPOs, with several crypto exchanges rolling out tokenized SpaceX shares in parallel with the Elon Musk-led company’s initial public offering on Friday.

Investing News Network said four crypto venues had live SpaceX products—Ondo's SPCXon, Kraken's xStocks SPCXx and a Backpack-issued SPCX on Solana—each offering 1:1 tokenized equity backed by actual shares.

Cryptonews.net

The Investing News Network update also said Hyperliquid launched a pre-IPO perpetual contract providing synthetic exposure only, meaning users gain price exposure but cannot redeem for underlying shares.

In parallel, Mastercard introduced Agent Pay for Machines (AP4M) as payments infrastructure aimed at letting AI agents and machines conduct transactions.

Mastercard said AP4M lets AI agents and machines send, receive and pay for services autonomously, supporting payments via cards, bank accounts and stablecoins.

Hoffman’s outlook for tokenization is supported by multiple market estimates, with the CoinDesk-linked reporting citing that the market for tokenized assets has nearly tripled over the past year to more than $33 billion.

“Several crypto exchanges rolled out tokenized SpaceX shares in parallel with the Elon Musk-led company’s IPO”

Investing News Network

The same account said Citi estimates the sector could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, while a separate forecast from Boston Consulting Group and Ripple puts the opportunity at $18.9 trillion by 2033.

Hoffman said tokenization is laying groundwork for autonomous investing and real-time portfolio management, envisioning portfolios that are professionally managed, real-time and adjusting to market circumstances and data changes.

He argued that to reach that end state, the industry first needs tokenized assets, onchain prime-brokerage infrastructure and asset-management strategies that can be executed natively on blockchain networks.

Reporting also said Ondo already offers tokenized U.S. Treasury products and plans to expand into stocks, ETFs and perpetual futures through its tokenized marketplace.