Why REAL Finance sees infrastructure as the next phase of tokenized finance

Tokenization has largely moved beyond the question of whether real-world assets can be brought on-chain. For many institutions, the focus is now shifting to what happens next: how those assets are held, managed, serviced, transferred, and integrated into existing financial frameworks.

The latest step in REAL Finance’s approach to that challenge is its newly announced partnership with Anchorage Digital.

Announced this month, the partnership brings together REAL Finance and Anchorage Digital, home to the first federally chartered crypto bank in the United States and a qualified institutional custodian, to support the lifecycle of tokenized assets across issuance, custody, settlement, servicing, and secondary liquidity.

While tokenization has become increasingly common across digital finance, institutions continue to evaluate the operational and regulatory frameworks surrounding these assets before committing capital at scale. The Anchorage partnership reflects REAL Finance’s focus on building the infrastructure surrounding tokenized assets, including custody, compliance, servicing, governance, and liquidity.

“The challenge facing the industry has evolved considerably in recent years,” said Ivo Grigorov, CEO of REAL Finance. “The bigger question is whether the market has the infrastructure to support them at an institutional scale.”

“For tokenized funds, private credit, real estate, securities, and other real-world assets to become part of mainstream capital markets, institutions need more than blockchain rails. They need trusted custody, compliant settlement, clear risk classification, liquidity, insurance, reporting, and operational accountability across the full asset lifecycle.”

That focus has been reflected in several of the company’s recent initiatives.

In May, REAL Technologies, the parent company of REAL Finance, announced a securities infrastructure agreement with Factori AD, an EU-regulated investment broker. The agreement activated an institutional pipeline exceeding $100 million in client assets designated for tokenization, beginning with equity derivatives tied to Alpha Bulgaria AD, a company listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

Beyond the size of the pipeline, the arrangement reflects a model increasingly being explored across digital finance. Factori AD retains responsibility for regulated brokerage functions, including client onboarding, KYC and AML compliance, OTC execution, and segregated custody, while REAL Finance provides the tokenization infrastructure layer.

For institutional investors, custody remains one of the most important components of participation in digital asset markets, serving as a foundation for risk management, governance, and operational oversight. By incorporating Anchorage’s regulated custody capabilities into its broader framework, REAL Finance is extending the infrastructure available to issuers, asset managers, and other market participants operating within its ecosystem.

The focus on infrastructure comes as institutional participation in tokenized finance continues to grow. BlackRock’s tokenized treasury fund BUIDL surpassed $2.4 billion in assets earlier this year, JPMorgan continues expanding blockchain-based settlement capabilities through its Onyx platform, and the New York Stock Exchange has announced plans to develop a platform for trading and settling digital securities, subject to regulatory approval.

Together, these developments point to a market increasingly focused on how tokenized assets operate within broader financial systems rather than simply how they are issued.

One area Grigorov believes remains underappreciated is servicing.

“Real-world assets do not stop being real-world assets once they are tokenized. They still have cash flows, obligations, reporting needs, corporate actions, risk events, and lifecycle management requirements.”

As more assets move into digital environments, the ability to manage those responsibilities in a transparent and compliant manner may become as important as the tokenization process itself.

The company’s recent agreements with Factori AD and Anchorage Digital reflect what Grigorov believes institutions will increasingly look for as tokenized markets mature: regulated counterparties, operational reliability, and infrastructure capable of supporting assets throughout their lifecycle.

“Large-scale participation will not come from pilots alone. It will come from repeatable infrastructure, trusted counterparties, clear regulatory alignment, institutional-grade controls, and live use cases where real assets move through digital rails without adding operational complexity.“