Yeliz Akmaca 
RWA tokens saw a significant surge this week, gaining 11% in value. The on-chain total value reached $29 billion, setting a new record. Meanwhile, financial institutions are accelerating the market by tokenizing real-world assets on the blockchain.
RWA Tokens and Weekly Performance
RWA tokens, representing tokenized real-world assets, showed remarkable performance over the past seven days. According to CoinMarketCap, the RWA token market capitalization approached $76 billion on Friday, reaching an all-time high. This increase is supported by financial institutions offering more products on the blockchain.
The RWA ecosystem includes projects focused on tokenization such as Chainlink (LINK), Avalanche (AVAX), and Ondo Finance (ONDO). Ondo Finance notably gained 9% during the day, attracting investor attention.
On-Chain Value Record
According to RWA.xyz, the total on-chain tokenized assets exceeded $29 billion for the first time this week. Since the beginning of the year, the total value nearly doubled. Distribution is as follows:
- Over 50% private loans
- Around 25% U.S. Treasury bonds
- The rest includes commodities, alternative funds, stocks, and bonds
Including stablecoins, the total reaches $307 billion. Three-quarters of on-chain assets are tokenized on Ethereum and layer-2 networks.
Institutional Moves Supporting Tokenization Trend
Crypto investor Ryan Sean Adams noted on X that tokenization is supported by the U.S. government. Wall Street and fintech firms are actively entering this space.
Additionally, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is exploring tokenizing ETFs on the blockchain. Their 2024 launch of the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) on Ethereum started with $2.2 billion in tokenized assets. CEO Larry Fink stated that tokenizing financial assets will “democratize finance.”
What Is an RWA Token?
Today’s crypto world is not just virtual assets. RWA (Real World Asset) tokenization refers to converting physical and financial assets, from real estate to art, bonds to commodities, into digital tokens on the blockchain. These tokens bridge traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Tokenizing an asset brings transparency, speed, and accessibility benefits.
Benefits of RWA Tokens
- Accessibility: Allows small investors to access high-value assets.
- Liquidity: Traditionally illiquid assets can be bought and sold more easily, reducing costs and transaction times.
- Transparency & Security: Ownership, transfer history, and value are transparent on the blockchain, reducing fraud risk.
- Global Access: Removes geographic barriers, allowing investors worldwide to access assets.
- DeFi Integration: RWA tokens can be used as collateral in DeFi protocols for borrowing, lending, or earning yield.
Current RWA Tokens and Highlights
Notable RWA coins include LINK (Chainlink), FIGR_HELOC (Figure Heloc), XLM (Stellar), ONDO (Ondo), ALGO (Algorand), and XAUT (Tether Gold). LINK provides an oracle network connecting smart contracts to real-world data, FIGR_HELOC tokenizes home loans for DeFi, XLM enables fast cross-border payments, ONDO offers investment opportunities in tokenized stocks and bonds, ALGO provides scalable blockchain infrastructure, and XAUT represents tokenized gold for portfolios.
Leading RWA Projects
- Centrifuge (CFG): Focused on tokenizing loans, invoices, and royalties.
- Mantra (OM): Provides a secure, regulation-compliant RWA platform.
- PAX Gold (PAXG): Tokens backed by physical gold offering a safe haven.
- Polymesh (POLYX): Blockchain designed for tokenizing securities.
- These RWA tokens combine traditional financial products with blockchain, making investment processes more transparent, liquid, and accessible.
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