Have you ever thought that one day houses, stocks, or even a bunch of grapes could become a type of digital token, like a 'digital certificate', confirming rights and enabling efficient circulation on the blockchain? Recently, the concept of such digital assets has suddenly become popular, becoming a hot topic in the finance and technology circles - this is RWA (Real World Assets on Chain) and RDA (Real Data Assets).
RWA is about putting real-world assets - houses, photovoltaic power stations, gold, agricultural products - into a digital shell through blockchain technology, forming programmable and transferrable digital asset certificates. The transparency and traceability of blockchain make the confirmation and transfer of these assets safer and more efficient. For enterprises, it opens up a new financing channel: allowing originally illiquid assets to be revitalized, improving transaction efficiency, reducing intermediary costs, and attracting more investors.
Of course, opportunities come with risks: smart contract vulnerabilities, technical risks, regulatory red lines, and poorly executed projects... all of which can lead to financial losses for investors. It is because of these issues that the concept of RDA has emerged. So, what exactly is the difference between RDA and RWA?
1. RWA tokens are not currency, but 'certificates'
If the cash in your wallet is currency, then RWA tokens are more like a 'digital certificate' that proves you have certain rights to a house, bond, or even a vineyard - it could be ownership or income rights.
For example:
Some RWA tokens represent ownership shares of real estate, allowing holders to own a part of the house;
Some RWA tokens represent rental income rights, allowing holders to share in future rental returns.
Therefore, the value of RWA tokens depends on the price and performance of the underlying assets, but they cannot be directly used for payment or circulation like currency.
Two types of issuance methods for RWA
1. Physical asset types: such as real estate and commodities. These assets have low liquidity and require off-chain confirmation of rights and valuation before designing the issuance structure. Using oracles to correspond real asset information with on-chain digital tokens achieves digital confirmation of rights and division of interests. Note that here, 'segmentation' refers to the digitization of interest shares rather than the physical assets being split.
2. Standardized securities: such as stocks and bonds. Because these assets are already standardized, they do not need complex confirmation and valuation, and can be directly mapped to digital tokens. It's like splitting a stock into more 'shares', or creating a fund token from a basket of securities, where holders obtain the corresponding shares of rights.
Why do people like RWA?
Expand financing targets
Reduce financing costs
Design flexible trading structures
Broaden the range of investors
For holders of real estate and large infrastructure, this is a new path to break through traditional financing bottlenecks. However, in mainland China, virtual asset regulation is strict, and RWA projects must comply with regulations to avoid crossing boundaries.
Case Study: Malu Grapes - An Exploration of Digital Assets Between RWA and RDA
In November 2024, the Malu Grapes digital asset project launched and completed 10 million yuan in financing.
It is not purely RWA, but a hybrid attempt between RWA and RDA.
Why do you say that?
The shadow of RWA: anchored by real grapes and consumption scenarios;
The flavor of RDA: packaging planting data and interactive experiences into digital certificates.
Gameplay example:
Users receive a digital 'Malu Grapes Asset Package', which includes a grape pickup card and production data;
You can interact in the 'Digital Vineyard', and points can be exchanged for physical grapes;
Each digital certificate, once exchanged for physical goods, will no longer circulate and does not possess the attributes of free trading in the secondary market.
This design is intended to comply with strict domestic regulations, limiting transfer functions and locking interests at the physical consumption level, rather than arbitrary speculation of 'securitized tokens'.
Four, RDA: Data can also become assets
RDA (Real Data Asset) focuses on the data itself, rather than the assets themselves.
Logistics data, transaction data, revenue data, etc., are additional information in traditional finance;
Under the RDA framework, this data can be packaged, put on chain, and confirmed, becoming a new type of data asset certificate.
Understanding methods:
RWA: What is on chain is the house itself, and what you hold is a share of the house;
RDA: What is on chain is the rental data generated by the house, and what you hold is the value of that data.
Different logic of returns:
RWA income comes from the asset itself (such as rental income);
RDA income comes from the data itself (such as the value of rental data).
A single word difference, but the underlying logic is vastly different
In summary:
RWA: Reflects physical assets, real but not as intuitive as digital;
RDA: Reflects data assets, intuitive and efficient, but the valuation method is immature, making it difficult to quantify the value of data usage compared to physical assets, which can easily lead to a 'black box'.
In the future, RWA and RDA may complement and coexist:
RWA enables assets to be put on chain, confirmed, and circulated;
RDA makes data more real and transparent.
For enterprises, this means more diverse financing methods and innovative opportunities.
Summary in one sentence
RWA is 'assets on chain', RDA is 'data on chain'.
One enables the segmentation of rights in real assets, while the other allows the pricing and circulation of data generated by assets.
