By 2026 the industry narrative has moved from speculative memecoins toward tokenized assets and decentralized infrastructure that link blockchains to physical economic activity. Market participants and enterprises are prioritizing projects that deliver verifiable utility — a shift aimed at attracting institutional capital, reducing intermediation costs and navigating evolving regulation.
Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWAs) has emerged as a central pillar of the “real economy” thesis. Projects that represent ownership or claims on government bonds, real estate and unique assets as on‑chain tokens are intended to increase liquidity, enable fractional ownership and support 24/7 settlement mechanics.
Platforms such as Ondo Finance (notably OUSG tokenizing a BlackRock-linked treasury product) were cited as early examples of how traditional fixed-income exposure can be delivered on blockchain rails, lowering entry barriers for global investors.
These developments do not erase legal and operational frictions. Regulatory fragmentation and the legal enforceability of tokenized claims remain key obstacles, and off‑chain custodians or legal wrappers introduce counterparty risk. Analysts have stressed that tokenization can either democratize access or simply make legacy institutions more efficient depending on legal design and governance.
‘Machines’ on the ground: DePIN and AI agents
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) and autonomous AI agents represent the “machines” that tie digital tokens to physical services. Early networks such as Helium and Filecoin demonstrated how token incentives can mobilize distributed hardware — from wireless hotspots to storage nodes — and projects like Hivemapper have illustrated community-driven data collection for mapping services. DePIN proponents argue these models lower CAPEX, increase resilience and create participant ownership models that differ from centralized incumbents.
Alongside hardware, intelligent agents and IoT feed verifiable real‑world data into smart contracts. Use cases outlined in industry analysis include automated insurance payouts triggered by sensor data, autonomous supply‑chain adjustments, and DAO-based governance of deployed infrastructure. Those systems promise efficiency gains but raise questions about scaling, hardware standardization, tokenomic sustainability and governance concentration.
Frameworks such as MiCA and a growing set of pilot programs have already shaped enterprise pilots and RWA deployments, but global harmonization is lacking. That regulatory ambivalence, combined with technical and fiduciary risks, makes the path from pilots to scale an open negotiation between innovation and legal certainty.
Investors and enterprises are now turning attention to regulatory outcomes, RWA pilot performance and DePIN benchmarks through 2026 as the practical tests of this narrative.
Those results will determine whether Web3 shifts permanently from a speculative attention economy toward a layered infrastructure that interlinks tokens, machines and real economic activity. Related: From memecoins to machines — the enterprise pilots to watch in 2026
