Fintech Lunch and Learn: Digital Assets, Tokenisation and the Evolution of Finance

Digital assets are playing an increasingly important role in global financial services, with growing institutional adoption and developments in blockchain technology creating new opportunities across financial markets.

In our latest Fintech lunch and learn webinar, on Thursday 15 October, Ray Dillet, Head of Financial Institutions (Europe) at Bitwise, explored the key trends driving digital asset adoption, the growing use of stablecoins and tokenisation, and what these developments could mean for financial services professionals.

Drawing on market data and examples from global institutions, Ray examined how digital assets are evolving beyond their early applications and are becoming increasingly relevant to established financial products, services and infrastructure.

The drivers of digital asset adoption

The presentation explored several trends influencing digital asset adoption, including changing investor preferences, the transfer of wealth between generations, growing institutional participation and advances in technology.

Ray highlighted the increasing involvement of major financial institutions, including BlackRock, JPMorgan and Franklin Templeton, across areas such as digital asset investment products, blockchain-based payments and tokenisation.

These developments demonstrate how established financial institutions are exploring the use of digital assets and blockchain infrastructure within their existing activities, rather than treating them as entirely separate from traditional finance.

Stablecoins and tokenisation: growing applications

Stablecoins and tokenisation were central themes of the session, with both topics demonstrating how blockchain technology is being applied across financial markets.
The presentation highlighted the significant growth of stablecoins, with total market capitalisation exceeding US$300 billion, as of September 2026, compared with less than US$10 billion at the beginning of 2020, according to data presented by Bitwise.

Stablecoins are increasingly being explored for payments and settlement, offering potential opportunities for more efficient movement of value across financial systems.

Tokenisation was another key focus, particularly the representation of traditional financial assets on blockchain networks. Examples from major asset managers and financial institutions illustrated the growing activity across tokenised financial products and market infrastructure.

While projections for future market growth vary considerably, these developments indicate increasing institutional interest in how financial assets can be issued, managed and transferred using blockchain technology.

AI and digital assets

The session also explored the emerging relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology, particularly the potential for AI-powered systems to carry out transactions using programmable digital payments.

Ray highlighted how the development of autonomous AI agents could create new applications for stablecoins and tokenised assets, although these use cases remain at an early stage.

The presentation also considered the implications of digital assets for investment portfolios, examining historical data on Bitcoin and Ethereum, alongside traditional asset allocations.

For Jersey’s finance industry, these developments are relevant to established areas of expertise, including investment management, private wealth, fund administration and corporate services. As digital asset applications continue to evolve, understanding their practical uses, risks and implications will be increasingly important for firms supporting international clients.

View the slide deck from the webinar