The acting chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is preparing new guidance for tokenized deposits and expects to introduce an application process for stablecoin issuers by the end of 2025.
Key Takeaways:
- The FDIC plans to issue guidance on tokenized deposits and introduce a stablecoin application process by late 2025.
- Acting Chair Travis Hill said blockchain-based deposits should retain the same legal protections as traditional deposits.
- Tokenization and stablecoins continue to accelerate, with RWAs surpassing $24 billion.
Speaking at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Fintech Conference on Thursday, Acting FDIC Chair Travis Hill said the agency intends to clarify how deposit insurance applies when deposits are issued or represented on a blockchain.
Travis Hill Says Tokenized Deposits Should Keep Same Protections
Hill has previously expressed support for tokenization and reiterated his belief that the technological format should not change the underlying legal protections.
“My view for a long time has been that a deposit is a deposit,” Hill said, according to Bloomberg.
“Moving a deposit from a traditional-finance world to a blockchain or distributed-ledger world shouldn’t change the legal nature of it.”
Interest in real-world asset tokenization has surged across Wall Street and global regulators this year.
Excluding stablecoins, the value of tokenized real-world assets topped $24 billion in the first half of 2025, driven largely by tokenized private credit and US Treasurys, according to RedStone.
BlackRock has been one of the most aggressive adopters, launching its tokenized money market fund BUIDL in 2024, which quickly became a dominant product in the RWA sector.
Hill also revealed that the FDIC is working on a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance, with a formal proposal for an application process expected before the end of 2025.
The regime stems from the agency’s responsibilities under the GENIUS Act, which directs US regulators to craft consistent rules for stablecoin oversight.
While it remains unclear how many institutions plan to seek FDIC approval, Hill said staff are developing standards around capital requirements, reserve backing, and risk management for banks seeking to issue FDIC-regulated stablecoins.
Stablecoins remain one of the fastest-growing segments of the digital asset market, with a combined market capitalization of $305 billion as of Friday, per DefiLlama.
Tokenized Real-World Assets May Unlock $400T TradFi Market
In a recent research, Web3 digital property firm Animoca Brands said that tokenization of RWAs could unlock a $400 trillion traditional finance market.
Animoca researchers Andrew Ho and Ming Ruan said the global market for private credit, treasury debt, commodities, stocks, alternative funds, and bonds represents a vast runway for growth.
“The estimated $400 trillion addressable TradFi market underscores the potential growth runway for RWA tokenization,” they wrote.
Meanwhile, according to the 2025 Skynet RWA Security Report, the market for tokenized RWAs could grow to $16 trillion by 2030.
Tokenized U.S. Treasuries alone are projected to reach $4.2 billion this year, with short-term government bonds driving most of the activity.
Institutional interest is accelerating, with major banks, asset managers, and blockchain-native firms exploring tokenization for yield and liquidity management.
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