Tokenization of Real-World Assets: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Current State and Future Prospects of RWA Development

Introduction

With the rapid development of the global digital economy, RWA has digitized traditional assets through blockchain technology, significantly enhancing asset liquidity, transparency, and accessibility. This innovation is regarded as a key force driving the digital transformation of financial markets. In particular, recently, with institutional funds accelerating inflow and the regulatory environment gradually clarifying, the RWA market is showing rapid growth. This report aims to comprehensively analyze the development history, current status, and future potential of RWA.

1. Definition and Development of RWA

1.1 Definition of RWA

RWA refers to the process of utilizing blockchain technology to transform real-world assets ( such as real estate, commodities, debts, and intellectual property into digital Tokens. These Tokens represent ownership or rights to income of the assets, which can be traded and managed on the blockchain. The core goal is to address issues like ownership confirmation difficulties, low circulation efficiency, and insufficient liquidity in traditional asset transactions through the immutability, traceability of blockchain, and programmability of smart contracts.

From a technical implementation perspective, RWA tokenization includes three key stages:

• Off-chain confirmation of rights: Completing asset ownership confirmation and value assessment through legal compliance procedures.
• Asset Mapping on the Chain: Mapping asset rights to the blockchain, generating corresponding Tokens.
• On-chain governance: Automated management of revenue distribution, staking settlement, etc. through smart contracts.

Compared to traditional asset securitization ) ABS (, RWA has similarities in risk isolation and cash flow restructuring, but its technology dependence requires additional assessment of factors such as blockchain architecture, smart contract security, and cross-chain interoperability.

) 1.2 RWA Development History

• Early exploration ### 2017-2020: The RWA concept began to emerge around 2017, with early projects mainly focusing on the tokenization of real estate and art. For example, the Securitize platform attempted to put assets on-chain and explore the feasibility of tokenization.

• Institutional Entry (2021-2023: In 2021, DeFi protocols like MakerDAO began to incorporate RWA into their ecosystems, allowing users to borrow against real assets as collateral. By 2023, the RWA market size reached $5 billion, with traditional financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and Franklin launching tokenization products, marking RWA's entry into the mainstream.

• Exponential Growth ) 2024-2025: Traditional financial institutions such as BlackRock and Goldman Sachs are accelerating their布局 in RWA, driving rapid market growth. The RWA market size has surpassed $23 billion, becoming one of the important directions for blockchain applications.

2. Market Size and Growth Trends

( 2.1 Global RWA market size

As of the end of May 2025, the total on-chain RWA value worldwide is approximately $23 billion. Among them, the RWA protocol's TVL first broke through the $10 billion mark in March 2025, reaching about $10.4 billion on March 21. During the same period, the RWA sector has seen significant year-on-year growth, with a TVL growth rate of nearly 140% from the beginning of 2025 to now. These data indicate that the RWA market has experienced explosive growth over the past two years.

The locking amount of mainstream RWA protocols is ) TVL ( has increased significantly. For example:

• MakerDAO)RWA Vaults###: At the beginning of 2025, its RWA collateral vault's TVL was approximately 1.3 billion USD.
• Ondo Finance: TVL is approximately $1.283 billion.
• Centrifuge: TVL is approximately $441 million.

In addition, BlackRock's on-chain U.S. Treasury Fund BUIDL has jumped to the top position with approximately $1.4 billion TVL, followed closely by MakerDAO with about $1.3 billion. These figures reflect the dominance of institutional-backed projects and quality protocols in the RWA space.

( 2.2 Growth Trends and Forecasts

Many research institutions have made predictions about the RWA market size in 2030 and provided corresponding estimates for the compound annual growth rate )CAGR(. Boston Consulting Group )BCG### once estimated that by 2030, the global asset tokenization scale could reach approximately $16 trillion. McKinsey and others have also predicted around $2 trillion. International banking giant Citigroup expects the scale to be in the range of $4-5 trillion by 2030, while digital asset management firm 21.co has given a wide range of $3.5-10 trillion. In the cryptocurrency industry, analyst Jamie Coutts pointed out that if the growth rate remains around 121% over the next five years, the RWA tokenization scale in 2030 would be approximately $1.3 trillion. The corresponding annual compound growth rates in the above predictions vary from tens of percentage points ( in the trillion level ) to hundreds of percentage points ( above 10 trillion ), reflecting both the potential and uncertainty of the RWA market. For example, growing from several billion dollars at the end of 2023 to Coutts' estimated $1.3 trillion corresponds to an annual growth rate of about 120% or more; while reaching BCG's expectation of $16 trillion would require an annual growth rate far exceeding 200%.

Main growth trend:

• Institutional participation accelerates: Traditional financial giants are entering the RWA space. Taking BlackRock as an example, its Ethereum-based treasury bond fund BUIDL will be launched in 2024, and by 2025, its scale will exceed 2.5 billion USD (, accounting for 41% of the global on-chain treasury bond tokenization market share ). A large trading platform also submitted an RWA exchange framework proposal to the SEC in 2025, expecting to reach a TVL of 10 billion USD within three years. In addition, institutions such as Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, and Franklin Templeton have launched or plan to launch compliant RWA products, driving market demand.

• Technological evolution drives efficiency improvement: The Ethereum ecosystem still occupies a dominant position in tokenization infrastructure. As of May 2025, the tokenized assets carried by Ethereum account for approximately 55% of the global total. At the same time, various high-performance links and scaling solutions continue to emerge. For example, a large trading platform plans to build an RWA platform using a hybrid chain architecture of Solana and Base, which can achieve sub-10 microsecond matching and 30,000 TPS throughput, significantly improving settlement efficiency and reducing costs. In addition, Layer2 network (, such as Arbitrum Nova ), and zero-knowledge proof technologies are being used to reduce RWA transaction costs and enhance privacy.

• Regulatory policies are tightening: Regulatory agencies in various countries are beginning to formulate rules related to RWA, providing a systematic guarantee for market development. A large trading platform has submitted a complete proposal to the U.S. SEC for compliance requirements such as a federal license for tokenized assets and on-chain audits, aiming to establish standards for token issuance and trading. The EU's "Crypto Asset Market Act" (MiCA) and other regulations are also clarifying the classification and compliance standards for RWA tokens. At the same time, places like Hong Kong and the United States have piloted allowing certain threshold investors to participate in RWA through compliant platforms, such as investing in national bonds and real estate through compliant stablecoins and security tokens. Overall, the maturity of policy regulation has enhanced institutional confidence, providing crucial support for the rapid expansion of the RWA market.

3. RWA Technical Path and Core Standards

( 3.1 Technical Path

The technical implementation path of RWA usually includes the following key steps and modules:

1. Asset On-Chain and Tokenization Process ( Asset Tokenization Workflow )

• Asset selection and rights confirmation: Clarify the value, ownership boundaries, and transferability of off-chain assets.
• Legality audit and SPV establishment: Asset custody through custodians or the establishment of special purpose vehicles ###SPV).
• Token Issuance ( Token Minting ): Generate corresponding tokens according to standards such as ERC-20, ERC-721, or ERC-3643.
• Off-chain data access ( Oracle/IOT ): Real-time asset status updates through oracles, the Internet of Things, or third-party audits.
• Value Guarantee Mechanism: Maintaining the anchoring relationship between tokens and real assets through custody, insurance, and over-collateralization.

2( RWA-supported protocol technology stack ) RWA Protocol Stack (

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( 3.2 Core Standards and Tools

• ERC-3643 )T-REX(: One of the most mature RWA Token standards, supporting identity whitelisting, regulatory control, and permission management.
• ERC-1400: A compliance framework for security tokens that supports modular regulatory compliance design.
• A well-known oracle: Provides reliable synchronization of off-chain data such as prices and asset statuses.
• Multisig/Custody Tools: such as Gnosis Safe, Anchorage Custody, etc., to ensure asset security and governance compliance.
• TEE) Trusted Execution Environment ###: Ensures that sensitive off-chain data can still operate securely and privately during on-chain interactions.

The vision of RWA is to bring hundreds of trillions of dollars of real-world assets into the on-chain financial system, unlocking their liquidity and composability, and building a new generation of more efficient, transparent, and inclusive financial infrastructure. Its technical path must address the dual challenges of "on-chain programmability" and "off-chain trusted connections," while also taking into account legal compliance, auditing mechanisms, system security, and market participation paths.

4. Typical RWA Asset Categories and Practical Applications

( 4.1 Typical RWA Asset Types

The on-chain path of real assets is diversifying, with mainstream RWA projects focusing on the following types of assets, relying on the credit and yield structure of real assets to achieve tokenization mapping. These assets can be roughly divided into the following four categories:

1. Debt-type assets ) real-world securities (

This type of RWA project is usually linked to real-world debt instruments ) such as US Treasury bonds, corporate bonds, and accounts receivable ###, representing one of the most mature and mainstream tracks, with high transparency, strong compliance attributes, and predictable returns.

Typical projects:

• Ondo Finance: Issues OUSG and other tokens with US Treasury ETF as the underlying asset.
• Maple Finance: Connecting real-world credit demand with DeFi liquidity providers through structured credit products.
• Centrifuge: Tokenizing accounts receivable, invoices, and other assets on-chain, and connecting to the Tinlake protocol for lending.

2. Real estate assets ( real estate etc. )

By valuing real estate and rental income, the real estate assets are split into tradable Tokens for DeFi staking or asset allocation, providing good asset security and cash flow foundation.

Typical Projects:

• RealT: Provides tokenization holdings based on U.S. real estate, Token holders can receive rental income.
• Propy: Real estate transactions and property registration on the blockchain, achieving transparency in the home buying process.
• Lofty: A real estate fractional investment platform that supports proportional dividends and asset management.

3. Commodity assets ( gold, carbon credits, oil, etc. )

Issue tokens that are backed by real goods or certificates, linked to their value, for storage, hedging risk, or trading circulation.

Typical projects:

• PAXG: A gold-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos, with each Token corresponding to a certain amount of physical gold.
• OpenCarbon: A carbon credit tokenization platform that puts carbon reduction certificates on the blockchain.
• Tangible: Tokenization of physical assets such as liquor and watches for trading and storage.

4. Other real asset classes ( copyrights, insurance, invoices, intellectual property, etc. )

It belongs to the innovative field in the early stage of RWA exploration, representing assets with relatively weak liquidity but strong innovation, suitable for incubation by specific vertical platforms.

Typical projects:

• Re: Insurance risk exposure tokenization platform, providing on-chain reinsurance for DeFi.
• IP3 / Story Protocol: Exploring solutions to put intellectual property value on the blockchain.
• Goldfinch: A credit lending platform supporting microloans in emerging markets.

( 4.2 Practical Applications of RWA

)1( Investment-oriented RWA: Yield anchoring of virtual assets

The practice of investment-oriented RWA can be traced back to the exploration of stable mechanisms in the DeFi ecosystem, where the typical model is to provide value support for virtual assets with the returns of real assets. This "asset backing" logic was evident in the early practices of MakerDAO.