This expanding footprint has helped turn LINK into the largest non-layer-1 crypto asset by market cap excluding stablecoins, according to Grayscale.
Chainlink News
Grayscale has positioned Chainlink as essential infrastructure for the growing tokenized assets market, describing the project as the "critical connective tissue" linking crypto to traditional finance.
The asset manager stated in a recent research report that Chainlink's expanding suite of software tools is emerging as core infrastructure for tokenization, cross-chain settlement, and the broader shift toward real-world assets on blockchain rails. The report characterized Chainlink as "modular middleware that lets on-chain applications safely use off-chain data, interact across blockchains, and meet enterprise-grade compliance needs."
This expanding footprint has helped turn LINK into the largest non-layer-1 crypto asset by market cap excluding stablecoins, according to Grayscale. The structure gives investors exposure to multiple ecosystems rather than a single chain.
Grayscale identified tokenization as the clearest pathway where Chainlink's value becomes apparent. Nearly all financial assets, from securities to real estate, remain recorded on off-chain ledgers today. For these assets to gain blockchain efficiency and programmability, they must be tokenized, verified, and connected to external data sources.
"We expect Chainlink to play a central role orchestrating the process of tokenization, and it has announced a variety of partnerships, including with S&P Global and FTSE/Russel, that should help it do so," Grayscale wrote. The tokenized asset market has grown from $5 billion to more than $35.6 billion since early 2023, according to RWA.xyz data.
Chainlink, JPMorgan's Kinexys network, and Ondo Finance completed a cross-chain delivery-versus-payment settlement between a permissioned bank payment system and a public blockchain testnet in June. The pilot connected Kinexys Digital Payments with Ondo Chain's testnet, which specializes in tokenized real-world assets.
Using Chainlink's Runtime Environment as the coordination layer, the settlement exchanged Ondo's tokenized U.S. Treasurys fund, OUSG, for fiat payment without assets leaving their native chains. Grayscale's research arrives shortly after the firm filed to convert its Chainlink Trust into an exchange-traded fund that would trade under ticker GLNK on NYSE Arca.
The report estimates that tokenized assets currently represent just 0.01% of the total global fixed income and equity securities value. Growth in the tokenized assets market could imply rising demand for Chainlink's offerings as banks, asset managers, and data providers explore blockchain rails.
Grayscale views LINK as offering diversified exposure to crypto's infrastructure layer, positioning the token to benefit as traditional markets explore on-chain solutions for compliance, data feeds, and blockchain interoperability across the expanding RWA sector.
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