Why everyone is talking about RWAs: Boom and outlook for tokenization

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How RWAs became crypto’s fastest-growing segment

Why 2025 is being called an RWA boom

The growth of the tokenized-assets market in 2025 was among the most intense in its history. According to CoinShares, the sector more than doubled to roughly $18 billion, with the main contribution coming from tokenized U.S. Treasuries and private credit, which also nearly doubled. Other market participants offer broader estimates: for example, in an October update Hedera reported more than $24 billion in tokenized assets overall. The gap in calculations only highlights the scale: RWAs have become a standalone financial vertical that is expanding faster than any other segment of the on-chain market.

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Macro conditions also played a role. With U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) rates elevated, investors looked for dollar-denominated yield without crypto-market volatility, and tokenized Treasuries became a natural choice. Gold and silver, by contrast, served as “safe-haven” assets, offering access to traditional commodities in digital form without intermediaries.

In practice, the sector was the first to demonstrate sufficient scale and maturity for traditional assets—from bonds to gold—to coexist organically with blockchain. The market developed working custody mechanisms, legal structures for debt instruments and commodities, as well as issuance and settlement platforms. RWAs have firmly moved into the practical realm: the technology has become understandable, manageable, and suitable for large capital flows.

Top-performing RWAs and the factors behind their rise

Tokenized U.S. Treasuries were the clear leader of the year. Their total supply nearly doubled to around $8.7 billion. The largest capital inflows went into products issued by Ondo Finance (OUSG), Superstate, and Backed Finance. These offerings delivered exactly what institutions needed in a high-rate environment: predictable yield, low risk, and a clear legal structure. The mechanics became almost identical to using traditional funds—only faster and cheaper thanks to on-chain settlement.

Private credit was the second major segment that effectively got a “second wind” in 2025. Tokenization made corporate and small-business loans more liquid and accessible, while high U.S. rates created steady demand for higher-yield instruments. The most notable players this year were Maple Finance, Centrifuge, Goldfinch, and Clearpool. Through them, the private credit market expanded to nearly $17–18 billion, opening up a segment that had previously been closed and difficult for most investors to access.

Tokenization platforms—Securitize, Ondo, Plume, and others—became the infrastructure core of RWAs. They proved that tokenized assets can meet compliance, custody, and operational-control requirements. For many funds, these venues became the first practical entry point into the blockchain ecosystem.

Alongside the dominance of debt products, another trend also emerged: gradual growth in tokenized metals, primarily gold (XAUT, PAXG) and silver (AGX, SLVT). Their volumes are still much smaller, but the key point is the shift itself: tokenization has reached assets that for decades have been the “anchor” of traditional portfolios.

Overall, 2025 created a clear RWA hierarchy: at the top are assets with stable, predictable yield that are easy to scale and integrate into the traditional financial model. And the rise of tokenized metals reinforced the broader direction—blockchain is gradually absorbing even the most classical pillars of finance.

RWAs are no longer a niche play

What’s ahead for the segment in 2026? Institutional participation is set to keep rising. Tokenized Treasuries could double again if demand for on-chain, dollar-denominated yield holds up. New partnerships among infrastructure providers point in the same direction: for instance, Cronos has announced a collaboration with AWS aimed at speeding up institutional adoption of tokenization and RWAs.

Blockchain ecosystems that used to focus mainly on DeFi or governance are moving the same way. Back in September, the Cardano Foundation unveiled a plan to launch RWA initiatives worth more than $10 million and made them a key pillar of the network’s roadmap.

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That’s a strong signal that in 2026 tokenization will be a priority not only for financial infrastructure but for L1 networks themselves.

A broader universe of tokenized assets

The next wave of tokenization is expected to expand into real estate, private equity, municipal bonds, and ESG projects. The fastest progress will likely come in categories where legal frameworks are already in place and can be adapted to on-chain issuance.

At the same time, more unconventional cases are emerging—from infrastructure initiatives in Singapore and Hong Kong to sports franchises. One example is MultiBank’s project with Khabib Nurmagomedov, focused on tokenizing his chain of gyms. All of this reinforces the point: RWAs are steadily moving into areas that previously weren’t seriously considered for tokenization.

RWAs meet DeFi

In the coming year, the market is likely to see more hybrid products: RWA-backed collateral, liquid pools built on government debt, and protocols tailored to tokenized yield. Against this backdrop, competition will intensify among networks looking to become the main venue for retail-facing RWAs.

In 2025, Solana and Base attracted hundreds of millions in TVL into products such as sUSDe and BUIDL by offering fast transactions and low fees. This is gradually reshaping DeFi—making it more anchored to real-world assets and less dependent on crypto’s internal volatility.

Liquidity will be the real test

In 2025, the market learned how to issue RWAs. In 2026, the focus will shift to secondary trading. Without active turnover, tokenization risks becoming a digital archive of assets rather than a true market.

Regulation may set the pace

Jurisdictions are working on rules for tokenized assets. If standards are coherent and clear, they could open the door to a new class of bank-grade products. If not, institutions will likely hesitate and scaling will slow.

RWAs as the new center of crypto

In 2025, RWAs became more than a technology trend—they turned into a distinct pillar of institutional strategy. You can see it in the changing tone at major industry events. At conferences that traditionally shape the agenda—from Real-World Asset Summit to Tokenize: LDN and FinTech Connect—tokenization has moved from niche panels to headline discussions.

And it’s not just Web3 projects anymore: banks, payment providers, brokers, and funds are now talking about RWAs in terms of yield, liquidity, secondary markets, and regulatory frameworks.

This shift marks a real strategic inflection point: the market is gearing up to scale, and traditional capital is preparing for systematic on-chain deployment.

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