XRP, Ethereum, Solana And One Surprise Crypto (Not Bitcoin) Are Bitwise's 'Cleanest Plays'

A new note from crypto asset manager Bitwise points to Ethereum ETH/USD, Solana SOL/USD, XRP XRP/USD, and Chainlink LINK/USD as the "cleanest plays" in the emerging race to tokenize trillions of dollars in real-world assets (RWAs).

What Happened: In a sharp departure from speculative crypto narratives, the firm suggests tokenization could represent crypto's most credible and scalable real-world application to date.

“Tokenization—the idea of moving stocks, bonds, and other real-world assets onto blockchains—is starting to break through,” wrote Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan and Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen.

The firm highlighted a string of developments: Robinhood HOOD launching tokenized stock trading on Arbitrum, Kraken's xStocks built on Solana, and a $135 million investment into a new Layer 1 blockchain from financial giants like Citadel and Goldman Sachs.

Ethereum remains the dominant infrastructure for tokenization efforts, but Bitwise warns against overly concentrated bets.

Solana, XRP, and Chainlink were also named as integral to the emerging architecture.

"You don't want to bet on the wrong horse," Hougan cautioned, noting the wide range of industry players entering the field.

The report also underscores the sheer size of the opportunity.

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Why It Matters: BlackRock BLK CEO Larry Fink recently wrote, "Every stock, every bond, every fund—every asset—can be tokenized."

Bitwise calculates that tokenizing even 1% of the $257 trillion global stock and bond market would dwarf most existing crypto use cases, including stablecoins.

Recent shifts in regulatory tone may further accelerate momentum.

The SEC's outgoing chairman has called tokenization a key innovation and suggested the era of "regulation by enforcement" is ending.

Beyond Ethereum, Solana has drawn attention through integrations like Kraken's xStocks; XRP Ledger was tapped to tokenize $200 million in RWAs by a major Latin American exchange; and Chainlink remains a central piece in off-chain data verification.

"Tokenization may still be early," Hougan acknowledged, "but the scale of capital moving and institutional buy-in suggest the price impact could come sooner than expected."

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