Grayscale has described Chainlink as a central force in the next major phase of blockchain adoption, calling the project the “critical connective tissue” that links decentralized systems with established financial infrastructure. In a recent report, the asset manager said Chainlink’s expanding suite of tools positions it as foundational middleware for tokenization, cross-chain interoperability and applications that rely on real-world data. The firm argued that Chainlink’s capabilities now stretch far beyond providing oracle feeds. “A more accurate description of Chainlink today would be modular middleware that lets on-chain applications safely use off-chain data, interact across blockchains, and meet enterprise-grade compliance needs,” Grayscale wrote. The report added that this broad utility has pushed LINK into the top tier of non-layer-1 crypto assets by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins. Tokenization Seen as Chainlink’s Biggest Opportunity Grayscale noted that tokenization remains the clearest area where Chainlink’s value becomes evident. Most traditional assets are still recorded on centralized ledgers, meaning they must be tokenized and connected to external data before they can operate in a programmable blockchain environment. “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,” the report continued. The market for tokenized assets has expanded sharply, rising from $5 billion to more than $35.6 billion since early 2023, according to data from RWA.xyz. Banks, Asset Managers and Chainlink Complete Cross-Chain Settlement Pilot Chainlink’s technology has already been used in early tokenization pilots involving major institutions. In June, Chainlink, JPMorgan’s Kinexys network and Ondo Finance carried out a cross-chain delivery-versus-payment settlement between a permissioned payment network and a public blockchain test environment. The pilot connected JPMorgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments network with Ondo Chain’s testnet for tokenized real-world assets. Using the Chainlink Runtime Environment as the coordination layer, the test successfully exchanged Ondo’s OUSG tokenized US Treasurys fund for fiat settlement without either asset leaving its native chain.