WisdomTree bets on the crypto market! $770 million in tokenized assets rush toward profit threshold

WisdomTree CEO Says Crypto Is a Core Strategy Set to Turn Profitable, Tokenized Assets Surge from $30 Million to $770 Million, a 25-Fold Increase. The company launches the WisdomTree Connect platform, expands to Solana, and after acquiring Securrency, sells it to DTCC to establish compliance technology.

Tokenized Assets Surge 25-Fold to $770 Million

(Source: WisdomTree)

WisdomTree CEO Jonathan Steinberg said Tuesday at the Ondo Summit in New York that WisdomTree’s cryptocurrency business is no longer experimental but a core part of the company’s strategy, and profitability is imminent. Steinberg stated, “We want to continue scaling. Last year, our assets grew from about $30 million to approximately $750 million.” He also added that the company is currently not profitable in digital assets but “expects to develop it into a profitable business.”

This asset management firm, managing $150 billion, has been heavily investing in blockchain infrastructure, launching tokenized funds, and expanding into new blockchains like Solana. Steinberg explained that this effort stems from a long-term belief. “It’s still early, but it’s no longer an experiment. We are confident. So we believe that ultimately everything will become self-sustaining.” This shift from experimentation to core strategy marks a fundamental change in traditional asset managers’ attitude toward cryptocurrencies.

It’s easy to see why WisdomTree has been pushing digital assets. Recently, during its earnings call, the company announced that its WisdomTree tokenized asset management AUM has grown to $770 million, a 25-fold increase from expectations for 2024. This growth rate is extremely rare in traditional finance. Typically, asset management firms see annual AUM growth of 10%-20% as excellent, but WisdomTree achieved a 2,500% increase in less than two years, highlighting the explosive potential of the tokenized asset market.

WisdomTree Digital Asset Growth Timeline

Early 2024: Tokenized assets approximately $30 million (experimental phase)

End of 2025: Tokenized assets reach $770 million (growth of 25 times)

Strategic Positioning: From experiment to core business

Profitability Expectation: Soon to achieve profitability in digital assets

WisdomTree has taken an active lead among traditional asset managers in the digital asset space, launching a series of tokenized funds and recently expanding distribution channels through WisdomTree Connect, enabling these assets to transfer between self-custody wallets and institutional platforms. This multi-channel distribution strategy is a key innovation, breaking the traditional limitation of funds only being purchasable through brokers or banks.

WisdomTree Connect Bridges Self-Custody and Institutional Channels

The WisdomTree Connect platform is the core infrastructure of the company’s digital asset strategy. It allows seamless transfer of tokenized assets between self-custody wallets and institutional platforms—an interoperability nearly impossible in traditional finance. Imagine holding WisdomTree’s tokenized US Treasury fund in MetaMask and transferring it directly to JPMorgan’s institutional custody platform, with instant settlement and minimal costs, all without intermediaries.

The revolutionary aspect of this technical architecture is that it eliminates the multi-layered intermediaries typical of traditional finance. Buying and selling traditional funds involves brokers, clearinghouses, custodial banks, and more, each incurring fees and adding delays. Tokenized funds circulate on the blockchain, with ownership changes completed instantly, on-chain records immutable and fully transparent. WisdomTree Connect translates this technological advantage into a practical user experience, allowing both institutional and individual investors to enjoy blockchain benefits.

The company also made a strategic investment by acquiring compliance-focused tokenization firm Securrency, then sold Securrency to DTCC. Steinberg said this move is a foundational step toward realizing “compliance-aware tokens” and programmable finance, helping WisdomTree build a long-term, interoperable digital asset strategy. While the buy-and-sell operation may seem contradictory, it actually reflects a savvy strategic approach.

WisdomTree gained key compliance technology and patents through acquiring Securrency—essential foundations for building tokenized assets. However, holding a tech company long-term is not core to an asset manager’s expertise and can distract management. Selling Securrency to DTCC (the largest securities clearinghouse in the US) not only recovers the investment but also establishes a strategic partnership with traditional financial infrastructure. DTCC adopting Securrency’s technology means WisdomTree’s tokenized assets will be more easily integrated with traditional securities systems.

Decisive Shift from Experiment to Core Strategy

For Steinberg, cryptocurrencies represent not just a product opportunity but a new financial infrastructure. “In fact, it’s much more than asset management; it’s about financial services,” he said. “Financial services—some banks’ histories go back hundreds of years. They are built on traditional foundations, layered upon each other, and are now moving toward modernization.” This statement reveals Steinberg’s deep understanding of tokenization: it’s not just patching existing systems but rebuilding financial infrastructure.

The complexity of traditional finance stems from historical accumulation. Each new feature is layered onto old systems, resulting in increasingly bloated architecture and higher maintenance costs. Blockchain offers an opportunity to redesign from scratch, creating a simpler, more efficient, more transparent financial system. WisdomTree recognizes this historic opportunity and is participating not just as a product provider but as an infrastructure builder.

What are WisdomTree’s future goals? Steinberg said, “We just want to keep scaling what we’re doing.” Behind this seemingly simple goal is confidence in the enormous potential of the tokenized asset market. If WisdomTree maintains similar growth rates, its tokenized asset AUM could reach hundreds of billions of dollars in the next 2-3 years, becoming a significant portion of its total AUM.

Expansion into blockchains like Solana is also noteworthy. Traditionally, institutional-grade applications are built mainly on Ethereum due to its security and decentralization. WisdomTree’s choice to also deploy on Solana shows an understanding of different blockchain characteristics. Ethereum is suitable for high-value, low-frequency asset tokenization, while Solana’s high throughput and low costs make it better suited for small, high-frequency financial applications. A multi-chain strategy allows WisdomTree to select the best platform for different use cases.

With a $150 billion asset management scale, the $770 million in tokenized assets accounts for only about 0.5%. This may seem small, but considering it was built from scratch in less than two years and is still accelerating, its strategic significance far exceeds its current size. WisdomTree is essentially betting on the future 10-20 years of financial landscape, where tokenized assets become mainstream, and this early positioning will turn into a huge competitive advantage.

For traditional asset managers, WisdomTree’s aggressive transformation offers a template. While giants like BlackRock and Fidelity cautiously explore crypto markets, WisdomTree, with a smaller scale but greater determination, has quickly built a comprehensive digital asset business. This “small company, big moves” strategy could give it influence beyond its size in the tokenization wave.

Steinberg’s statement, “We are still in the early stages, but it’s no longer an experiment,” sets the tone for the entire traditional finance industry to embrace crypto. When a publicly traded company managing $150 billion openly states that cryptocurrencies are a core business rather than an experiment, the impact far exceeds any white paper or market analysis. It sends a clear signal to regulators, peers, and clients: tokenization is not the future—it’s happening now.