Have you ever thought about this scenario: without needing to find an agent, you can spend a few hundred yuan on your phone to buy a 'partial ownership' of an American apartment, with monthly rent automatically deposited into your wallet; without opening a securities account, you can invest in U.S. Treasury bonds for just 1 dollar, with returns three times higher than bank deposits; even the enterprise invoices and carbon emission quotas you hold can be transformed into on-chain assets for trading at any time.
This is not a sci-fi plot, but a transformation that is currently happening with the global capital frenzy for RWA (Real World Asset Tokenization). Simply put, RWA is issuing a 'blockchain ID' for assets like houses, bonds, and gold, allowing them to circulate across regions, at low cost, and around the clock. The OKX Research Institute stated: This is not a transient hotspot, but a 'necessary path' for Web3 to connect the trillion-level traditional financial market.
From the asset securitization of the 1970s to today's RWA, the core of financial innovation has never changed—making assets more flexible, trading cheaper, and lowering participation thresholds. In 2025, this track will reach a critical explosion point: the total amount of on-chain RWA (excluding stablecoins) will reach $35 billion, a 150% increase from last year; even financial giants like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton are entering the fray. Today, we will thoroughly discuss the origins, core gameplay, and future opportunities of RWA.
I. Understanding RWA: Not creating new assets, but 'speeding up' old assets.
Many people assume that RWA is 'something new invented by blockchain', but that is incorrect. It is essentially building a more efficient 'operating stage' for traditional assets, like moving a traditional store to an e-commerce platform—the product is still the same, but the circulation efficiency is vastly different.
1. A Rental Case to Understand the Magic of RWA.
The pain points of traditional renting are well known: deposits and three months' rent crush wallets, intermediaries take a cut, deposit refunds are contentious, and temporary moves waste the remaining rental period. But RWA can solve these problems one by one:
Tenant side: no need for a deposit and three months' rent; just tap 'rent for a month' on the phone, and the smart contract automatically deducts the payment for occupancy; when moving temporarily, directly transfer the remaining rental period on-chain to someone else, with instant arrival; after vacating, the smart contract automatically checks the condition of the property, and the deposit is refunded immediately.
Landlord side: complete property rights confirmation on-chain, no fear of property disputes; rent is automatically distributed daily/monthly by smart contracts without the need for reminders; it can even convert the 'future 1-year rental income rights' into cash in advance, alleviating financial pressure.
This is the core value of RWA: breaking down originally 'heavy' assets into more flexible units, automating and making trading processes transparent.
2. From Emergence to Explosion: The Three-Stage Evolution of RWA.
RWA did not become popular suddenly; it has gone through more than a decade of sedimentation.
2009-2018: Emergence Phase. Bitcoin and Ethereum were born one after another, and some began to attempt to 'write' assets on-chain, such as early STOs (Security Token Offerings), but technology was immature and compliance was lacking, basically just small-scale experimentation.
2019-2022: Exploration Phase. Some DeFi protocols began to accept real estate, art, and other RWAs as collateral, but the scale was small, facing issues of poor liquidity and vague regulations, and never escaped the 'niche circle'.
From 2023 to now: Explosive Phase. Global interest rate fluctuations have led investors to frantically search for 'stable returns', resulting in the emergence of tokenized US Treasury bonds, private credit, and other products; coupled with the implementation of regulatory frameworks like the EU MiCA, major players like BlackRock entering the market for endorsement, the market scale has grown exponentially, officially moving towards a 'trillion-dollar track'.
3. The Underlying Logic of the Explosion: Three Major Forces Resonating.
RWA becoming the focus in 2025 is no coincidence but a result of the combined push from three forces: 'institutions + regulation + technology'.
Institutional entry brings confidence. BlackRock issued the BUIDL fund, and Franklin Templeton launched tokenized government bond products; the entry of these financial giants has completely dispelled market concerns about RWA being 'non-compliant'.
Clear regulations set the rules. The EU MiCA bill and relevant approvals from the US SEC delineate compliance boundaries for RWA, providing issuers and investors with clear guidelines.
Market demand drives growth. When global interest rates are unstable, the annualized yield of 4% on tokenized government bonds has become 'sought after'; DeFi protocols also need RWA as 'low-volatility assets' to hedge risks, creating a linkage between on-chain and off-chain funds.
II. Track Insights: Who is buying RWA? Which assets are most sought after?
As of November 2025, the number of RWA holders has exceeded 520,000, but the market structure is very clear: institutions are the main players (accounting for 50-60%), high-net-worth individuals come next (10-20%), while ordinary retail investors are still gradually entering. Meanwhile, the asset side is 'uneven', with some having become saturated while others are just getting started.
1. Core Consensus: Not all assets are suitable for tokenization.
A common misconception is: 'as long as it's on-chain, it can become valuable'. But the truth is, tokenization can only 'amplify' the inherent properties of assets, not 'create' new properties. For example, US Treasury bonds have good liquidity; tokenization allows for 24-hour trading, which is 'adding icing on the cake'; while a remote old house, even if divided into tokens, still lacks liquidity if no one buys.
BCG predicts that by 2030, the global asset tokenization scale may reach $16.1 trillion (about 10% of global GDP), but the real growth points are assets with stable cash flows and predictable returns, such as short-term government bonds and consumer credit; while those with extremely poor liquidity and non-standard assets are unlikely to gain traction.
2. Six Major Asset Categories: From 'Safe Bets' to 'Growth Stocks'.
The current RWA market has formed a clear hierarchy, with different assets corresponding to different risks and returns, and we analyze them in order of 'scale + potential':
(1) Stablecoins: the invisible 'foundation', scale crushing everything.
If we compare RWA to a building, stablecoins are the 'foundation'—its market value ($311.99 billion) is more than 10 times the total of all other RWA categories combined. Stablecoins like USDT and USDC, which we are familiar with, are essentially 'on-chain tokens of fiat currency' and are the liquidity core of the RWA ecosystem.
Their role is crucial: they are both the 'universal currency' for trading RWA and solidify the trust base through assets like US Treasury bonds. For example, USDC's reserves contain a large amount of government bonds, making its 1:1 peg more credible. There are even 'yield-generating stablecoins' now that automatically distribute treasury bond yields to holders, allowing 'idle money' to earn interest.
(2) Private Credit: High-yield mainstay, accounting for half of non-stablecoins.
Private credit is 'money borrowed privately by enterprises', with a traditional market scale of $1.6 trillion. After tokenization, it becomes the 'yield ceiling' in RWA—providing investors with an annualized return of 5%-15% without being linked to the volatility of the crypto market.
As of November 2025, the on-chain private credit active scale reached $18.66 billion, with an average annualized return of 9.79%. The leading platform, Figure, alone accounts for 92% of the market share. For example, with Figure's 'home equity credit', borrowers can get pre-approved in 5 minutes and receive funds in 5 days, 10 times faster than traditional banks, showcasing the efficiency advantage of tokenization.
However, the risks are also evident: high returns may come with 'junk bonds'. Some products appear enticing but actually lend money to opaque institutions, and once default occurs, it can trigger a chain reaction.
(3) US Treasury Bonds: the 'entry-level' for institutions, safety first.
US Treasury bonds are the 'safe bet' in RWA—government-backed, almost zero risk, with annual yields of 3%-5%, significantly higher than bank deposits. However, traditional investment thresholds are high, making it difficult for non-Americans to purchase, and tokenization perfectly addresses this issue.
After BlackRock entered the field with the BUIDL fund in 2024, this track exploded; the current scale has reached $8.7 billion, with over 58,000 holders. Different platforms have also segmented users: BlackRock's BUIDL has a threshold of $5 million, aimed at institutions; Ondo's USDY is accessible to global retail investors, allowing investment starting from $1, and can also be used as collateral in DeFi to generate more money.
Its secret to success is simple: it does not disrupt government bonds but opens a 'global online window' for them, allowing ordinary people to enjoy institutional-level low-risk returns.
(4) Commodities: Gold leads, with full safe-haven attributes.
In 2025, the price of gold rose by 55.3%, reaching an all-time high, driving the explosion of gold tokenization. Now, the scale of RWA commodities has reached $3.5 billion, with gold tokens accounting for the vast majority; Tether Gold (XAUt) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) are the leaders.
These tokens are 1:1 pegged to physical gold, stored in professional vaults. Buying 1 XAUt is equivalent to owning 1 ounce of gold. Additionally, they can be purchased in small amounts, sold at any time, and also used as collateral to earn interest, solving the traditional gold 'storage difficulty and slow conversion' pain points. For example, PAXG supports purchases from 0.01 ounces and can be exchanged for physical gold bars at any time, with KPMG auditing reserves monthly, ensuring maximum transparency.
(5) Real Estate: The threshold is reduced to $50, but pain points remain.
The most attractive aspect of real estate tokenization is 'fragmentation'—previously, buying a house required millions, but now you can invest with just $50 (for example, on the Lofty AI platform) and enjoy rental dividends. Platforms like RealT and Propy have already managed billions of dollars in real estate assets.
However, its bottleneck is also prominent: the core issue of housing is not 'whether it is on-chain', but the complexity of property transfers and lack of transparency in valuation. Even if you buy a property token, property rights ultimately still rely on off-chain contracts for security; if there are no buyers, the tokens will not sell. Therefore, it is still in the pilot stage, and the scale is far less than that of the previous asset categories.
(6) Listed Stocks: Technology stocks are the hottest, but it's hard to break traditional advantages.
Tech stocks like Tesla and Apple can also be tokenized; the current on-chain scale has reached $661 million, with over 109,000 holders. Tokenized stocks can be traded 24 hours a day and settled across borders, but the biggest problem is 'poor liquidity'—without market makers on weekends, a tweet from Musk can cause on-chain prices to soar or plummet, and by Monday, they may be disconnected from spot prices, making it easy for retail investors to be cut off.
It is widely believed in the industry that the opportunity for tokenized stocks does not lie in 'replacing brokers', but in serving scenarios that traditional markets cannot cover, such as tokenizing Pre-IPO equity (like SpaceX shares), solving the pain points of 'high investment thresholds and difficulty exiting'.
III. Behind the 2025 explosion: Who is leading? Where are the future risks?
RWA will become the 'top stream' in 2025, but interestingly, the leaders may not be crypto companies, but traditional financial giants. Institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity, which hold trillions in assets, are turning RWA into a tool for 'traditional finance on-chain', while crypto companies may become 'infrastructure providers'.
1. Core Trends: Not Disruption, but Integration.
Many believe that RWA is 'crypto's attempt to disrupt traditional finance', but the reality is 'reciprocal': traditional institutions need blockchain to improve efficiency, and the crypto ecosystem needs real assets to hedge risks. For example, MakerDAO (a DeFi protocol) accepts RWA as collateral, releasing more liquidity for stablecoins; BlackRock, on the other hand, introduces traditional clients to the chain through RWA, expanding the market.
The real value lies in 'inclusive finance'—there are 1.7 billion people globally without bank accounts, and RWA enables them to invest in government bonds and real estate using their phones, which traditional finance cannot achieve.
2. Three Major Risks: The 'Minefields' Behind Opportunities.
RWA is not a guaranteed profit business; these three risks must be heeded.
Regulatory risk varies by country; the SEC may classify some RWAs as 'securities'. Once regulation tightens, products may be forced off the shelves.
Credit risk: if the underlying assets have problems, the on-chain tokens may also collapse. For instance, if borrowers of tokenized credit default, investors will incur losses, and DeFi protocols find it difficult to penetrate and verify asset quality.
Liquidity risk: many assets seem to be 'on-chain', but if no one trades, they are still useless. For example, niche property tokens may take several days to sell.
3. How can ordinary people participate? Remember three principles.
Choose the right assets: beginners should start with stablecoins and tokenized government bonds, which have low risk; experienced investors can consider private credit, avoiding unknown 'high-yield products'.
Choose the right platforms: prioritize platforms with audits and endorsements from giants, such as BlackRock BUIDL and Paxos Gold, and avoid unqualified small platforms.
Diversify investments: do not invest all money into one type of RWA; for example, buy half in government bond tokens and half in gold tokens to hedge risks.
IV. Conclusion: RWA is not a bubble; it is the 'new infrastructure' of finance.
Some say RWA is 'the new story in the crypto space', but data does not lie: $35 billion in on-chain scale, 520,000 holders, and the entry of giants like BlackRock all indicate that it is not a bubble, but a 'new infrastructure' in the financial industry.
In the next 5-10 years, RWA may reshape the capital market: from payments and collateral to credit and AI wallet automatic trading, the integration of real assets and blockchain will deepen. BCG predicts a scale of $16.1 trillion by 2030, indicating nearly 50 times growth potential.
Ultimately, the winners of RWA will not be 'disruptors', but 'integrators'—those who can combine the trust of traditional finance, the efficiency of blockchain, and the needs of users will truly seize the opportunity of this trillion-dollar transformation.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for reference only and do not constitute any investment advice. Investors should rationally view cryptocurrency investments based on their own risk tolerance and investment goals, and avoid blindly following trends.
