Real-World Asset Protocols Top $10 Billion Amid Tokenization Boom

Real-world asset have notched a combined $10.216 billion in total-value locked on decentralized platforms as digitizing traditional financial instruments becomes increasingly popular in Web3. 

The total is spread across 79 DeFi platforms, with the top three RWA protocols accounting for 36% of that total-value locked, according to DeFiLlama. The top three RWA protocols—Maker RWA, BlackRock BUIDL and Ethena USDtb—hold $1.298 billion, $1.232 billion and $1.182 billion in TVL, respectively. 

Analysts are forecasting an explosion in the real-world asset market as investors flock to tokenized RWA products. Global investment firm VanEck has predicted RWAs will surpass $50 billion in market capitalization by the end of 2025.

Total-value locked is a commonly used metric for user demand in DeFi that measures the value of assets deposited on a particular decentralized platform. Real-world asset tokenization refers to the process of creating digital representations of tangible assets, including T-bills, real estate, and gold, on blockchains.

Maker’s RWA is backed by real estate and digitized traditional RWAs such as treasury bonds, while USDtb is backed by tokenized BlackRock money-market fund shares. BUIDL is a tokenized money market fund built on the Ethereum network. 

Tokenizing RWAs has gained traction as investors turn to investment vehicles based on treasury bonds, stablecoins and various commodities to hedge against crypto market volatility and diversify their portfolios. 

Launched early last year, BlackRock’s BUIDL holds $373 million in assets, while other tokenized treasury-backed funds such as Franklin Templeton’s BENJI and Ondo Finance’s OUSG are also attracting investor dollars. Meanwhile, interest in stablecoin-backed tokenized funds is picking up, with Ethena USDtb’s TVL increasing  1,000% over the past month, according to DeFiLlama. 

Edited by James Rubin