Tokenized real assets are poised for significant growth in a multi-chain future.
According to Cointelegraph, tokenized real assets (RWAs) are forecasted to be a significant part of traditional finance assets in a multi-chain future. Researchers Andrew Ho and Ming Ruan from Animoca Brands emphasized in an August research paper that the estimated addressable market for traditional finance (TradFi) at $400 trillion highlights significant potential for RWA tokenization growth. Currently, the RWA sector is valued at $26 billion, which is a small fraction of the total addressable market exceeding $400 trillion. These assets encompass private credit, government debt, commodities, equities, alternative funds, and global bonds.
Researchers noted a strategic race among major asset managers to develop fully integrated platforms, emphasizing that long-term value will accrue to those who can control the asset lifecycle. The size of the addressable market for traditional finance (TradFi) is 16,000 times larger than the current on-chain market. The small RWA tokenization market reached a record level of $26.5 billion, marking a 70% increase since the beginning of the year, according to industry tracker RWA.xyz. This growth signals clear momentum and increasing trust from institutions.
Ethereum holds a leading position in the real asset tokenization (RWA) market with a 55% market share, including stablecoins, and $156 billion in on-chain value. When considering second-layer Ethereum networks such as ZKsync Era, Polygon, and Arbitrum, this share increases to 76%, according to RWA.xyz. Researchers explain Ethereum's leading position through its security, liquidity, and the largest ecosystem of developers and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. The growth of RWA tokenization may drive further demand for related crypto-assets such as Ether (ETH) and Chainlink (LINK), both of which have recently outperformed the broader crypto market.
However, researchers emphasized that the activity of RWA tokenization is evolving within a multi-chain ecosystem that encompasses both public and private blockchains. They noted that Ethereum's current dominance is challenged by high-performance and purpose-built networks, indicating that interoperability will be crucial for success. Animoca Brands recently launched its own tokenized RWA market called NUVA, further contributing to the evolution of the real asset tokenization landscape.
