Crypto Market Update: Standard Chartered Forecast, Trump-Xi Meeting, Cuomo Endorsement

Key Takeaways

• Standard Chartered forecasts a real-world asset (RWA) boom to $2 trillion by 2028.
• US President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping to iron out tariff tensions.
• A pro-crypto political group has endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral race.

Standard Chartered Sees $2 Trillion in Tokenized RWAs by 2028

Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) may reach a cumulative value of $2 trillion in the next three years as more global capital and payments migrate onto more efficient blockchain rails, according to investment bank Standard Chartered. The bank said in a Thursday report that the “trustless” structure of decentralized finance (DeFi) is poised to challenge the dominance of traditional financial (TradFi) systems controlled by centralized entities.

DeFi’s growing use in payments and investments may bolster non-stablecoin tokenized RWAs to a $2 trillion market capitalization by 2028, the investment bank predicts. Of the $2 trillion, $750 billion is projected to flow into money-market funds, another $750 billion into tokenized US stocks, $250 billion into tokenized US funds, and another $250 billion into “less liquid” segments of private equity, including commodities, corporate debt and tokenized real estate.

“Stablecoin liquidity and DeFi banking are important pre-requisites for a rapid expansion of tokenised RWAs,” said Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, who added: “We expect exponential growth in RWAs in the coming years.” Reaching a $2 trillion market capitalization implies an over 57-fold growth for RWAs in the next three years from their current $35 billion cumulative value, according to data from RWA.xyz.

Trump, Xi meet in South Korea to Resolve Trade Tensions

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met face-to-face in South Korea to stabilize relations and resolve tariff tensions. Before the bilateral meeting, Trump indicated that the parties are showing signs of alignment, stating: “We’ve already agreed to a lot of things and we will agree to some more right now.”

“I think we’re going to have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time,” Trump said in a video posted to X by The White House on Thursday.

Trump's use of tariffs since returning to the White House, combined with China’s retaliatory limits on exports of rare earth elements, has fueled fears of an economic slowdown, with some of the most severe tariff implementations triggering crashes in the crypto market in recent months. That included the Oct. 10 market crash, which saw Bitcoin fall from $121,560 to below $103,000.

Pro-Crypto Org Backs Andrew Cuomo for NYC Mayor as Election Approaches

Innovate NY, a self-described “pro-digital assets” political organization funded with about $100,000 ahead of the New York City mayoral election, has backed independent candidate and former state Governor Andrew Cuomo. In a Tuesday notice, Innovate NY endorsed Cuomo for mayor, the race for which is already in the middle of early voting. The political group cited an agenda that included “blockchain, tokenization, public-benefit stablecoins, and artificial intelligence.”

The organization, registered as an independent spender with the New York City Campaign Finance Board, was funded with $99,500 from six individuals through two companies as of Wednesday. According to expenditure records, Innovate NY spent $30,000 on a flyer to support Cuomo and oppose Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, who is currently leading in many polls against the former New York governor.

New York City’s mayoral race has drawn attention from many in the crypto industry due to its potential impact on companies operating in the US’ biggest economic hub. Voters will choose between frontrunners Mamdani, Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa on Nov. 4. In the final weeks of his campaign, Cuomo made a push to crypto-minded New York voters, pledging to set up an Innovation Council with advisory committees for crypto, AI and biotech if elected. Mamdani, leading in the polls against Cuomo, has largely avoided making digital assets a part of his campaign and instead focused on cost-of-living concerns, including childcare and affordable housing.