RWA: A New Era Begins, Poised to Reshape the Global Financial Landscape

Key Takeaways

Real-world assets (RWAs) refer to the process of converting tangible or intangible assets from the real world (such as real estate, stocks, bonds, commodities, and artwork) into digital tokens using blockchain technology.

The U.S. has taken a cautious but gradually more open approach to RWAs. Since the new SEC Chair took office, RWA development has picked up speed.

The RWA sector has seen several leading projects, spanning both traditional Web2 financial platforms and Web3-native projects, such as Robinhood, MakerDAO, and Ondo Finance.

What Are RWAs

Real-world assets (RWAs) refer to the process of converting tangible or intangible assets from the real world (such as real estate, stocks, bonds, commodities, and artwork) into digital tokens using blockchain technology. These tokens represent full or fractional ownership of assets on the blockchain to make them digitized, transparent, and tradable. For example, a property can be tokenized and divided into multiple digital tokens, which investors can purchase to hold fractional ownership of the asset. This approach not only lowers the investment threshold but also improves both transaction efficiency and security through blockchain's decentralized nature.

The Value and Advantages of RWAs

Within the Web3 ecosystem, RWAs serve as a bridge between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). Their core value lies in the following aspects:

1. Increasing Asset Liquidity: Traditional assets like real estate or artworks are often illiquid, with long transaction cycles and high costs. RWAs divide these assets into smaller portions through tokenization, allowing them to be traded on-chain anytime, which significantly enhances their liquidity.

2. Lowering the Investment Threshold: Tokenization allows high-value assets (such as luxury homes or rare artworks) to be broken down into low-value tokens. Ordinary investors can invest by purchasing just a few tokens, thereby making investment more accessible.

3. Enhancing Transparency and Security: Blockchain's distributed ledger technology ensures that transactions are transparent and tamper-proof. Smart contracts automatically enforce trading rules, reducing intermediary costs and minimizing the risk of fraud.

4. Fueling the Growth of the DeFi Ecosystem: RWAs introduce high-quality assets into DeFi platforms, expanding the variety of DeFi products, such as collateralized loans, stablecoins, and yield farming. This contributes to the prosperity of the Web3 ecosystem.

By bringing traditional assets onto the blockchain, RWAs not only provide investors with new investment channels but also inject real-world value into the Web3 ecosystem, playing a vital role in the digital transformation of the global financial system.

Current State of RWA Development

The development of RWAs faces few technical hurdles. The main challenge lies in navigating regulatory policies across different countries. This is because tokenized assets are often classified as securities, subjecting them to strict oversight by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC requires token issuance platforms to comply with securities laws and fulfill information disclosure, registration, and compliance obligations. As blockchain technology continues to evolve, the U.S. has taken a cautious but gradually more open approach to RWAs. Since the new SEC Chair took office, RWA development has picked up speed.

In October 2023, JPMorgan launched its Tokenized Collateral Network (TCN), allowing investors to tokenize their money market fund (MMF) shares and use them as collateral. Furthermore, Visa rolled out its Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP) in October 2024, which enables banks to issue and manage various digital assets, including stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). These initiatives reflect how major U.S. financial institutions are actively exploring the potential of RWAs and driving their development under compliance frameworks.

After taking office in 2025, new SEC Chair Paul Atkins adopted a policy stance more supportive of crypto assets and blockchain technology. Under his leadership, the SEC swiftly established a Crypto Task Force, led by Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce, with the goal of creating a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, including RWAs.

On March 21, 2025, the Crypto Task Force held its first public meeting, aiming to develop "clear rules" for the issuance, custody, and trading of RWAs, offer viable registration pathways, and design a rational disclosure framework while continuing to crack down on illegal activity.

In June 2025, the SEC's official X account (SECGov) announced that Atkins had directed the staff to consider an "innovation exemption" framework that would allow registrants and non-registrants to bring on-chain products and services to market. This framework is specifically geared toward tokenized assets, aiming to lower compliance costs and accelerate RWA adoption.

Compared with the U.S., other countries like Switzerland and Singapore have also been proactive in RWA regulation. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has implemented a risk-based regulatory framework, applying tailored regulation approaches for different types of tokenized assets. Meanwhile, Singapore is collaborating with global banks to test blockchain platforms for tokenized assets through the "Project Guardian" initiative run by its Monetary Authority (MAS).

Key Trends in RWA Policy in 2025

Compliance Pathways for Tokenized Assets

The SEC is exploring clearer registration pathways for RWAs. For example, INX Limited successfully registered its token issuance in 2020, receiving SEC approval after 30 months and 10 amendments. In 2025, RWA projects like Figure Certificate also completed the Form S-1 registration process, signaling that the SEC's review of tokenized assets is becoming more standardized. However, it is worth noting that despite improvements in registration processes, the complexity and high costs associated with Form S-1 still stand as hurdles for small and mid-sized RWA projects. Atkins' "innovation exemption" framework may simplify this process.

Growing Institutional Participation

In 2025, traditional financial institutions are becoming increasingly interested in RWAs. For example, JPMorgan's TCN and Visa's VTAP show that major institutions are actively building out their presence in the RWA sector. The SEC's policy shift has provided clearer support for these institutions, encouraging them to develop tokenized products within a compliance framework. As projected by Boston Consulting Group, the RWA market could reach $16 trillion by 2030, with tokenized stocks and bonds serving as the primary drivers.

Rapid Growth in Tokenized U.S. Treasury Bills

Tokenized U.S. Treasury bills have emerged as a standout category in the RWA market, with their market size surpassing $4 billion in 2024. With supportive policies under Atkins, this market is expected to grow further, particularly as a bridge between institutional investors and DeFi platforms.

Momentum from Regulatory Clarity

In June 2025, Atkins declared, "No more unclear rules — real laws for tokenization are on the way." This statement reflects the SEC's determination to provide clear regulatory guidance for RWAs. This may include: clarifying which tokenized assets are classified as securities, streamlining disclosure requirements for RWA issuers, and developing regulatory frameworks that support 24/7 trading and rapid settlement.

Popular RWA Projects

The RWA sector has seen several leading projects, spanning both traditional Web2 financial platforms and Web3-native projects. The following are some of the representative examples:

Robinhood

As a leading online brokerage platform, Robinhood has recently begun exploring the RWA field. In the early hours of July 1, 2025, Robinhood dropped multiple bombshells, announcing that it will launch stock tokenization, RWA L2, perpetual contract functions, and staking services. Its official website shows that Robinhood users can currently purchase more than 200 U.S. stock tokens on its app, including tokenized stocks of NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, etc. In the future, it will be issued and traded on the Robinhood L2 chain based on Arbitrum Orbit. Robinhood Chain is currently under development and will be optimized for stock tokenization and support 24/7 trading, seamless bridging, and autonomous custody. In addition to tokenized stocks, Robinhood also announced the launch of perpetual futures for European users. The cryptocurrency staking service is launched for eligible US users, with ETH and SOL being the first to be opened.

Ondo Finance

Ondo Finance is a leading player in the RWA sector, specializing in the tokenization of TradFi assets such as U.S. Treasury bills and corporate bonds. Its flagship products include the tokenized U.S. Treasuries fund (OUSG) and the USDY (US Dollar Yield) stablecoin. By partnering with various decentralized exchanges and stablecoin issuers, Ondo offers Liquidity-as-a-Service, significantly improving the liquidity of tokenized assets. As of August 2024, Ondo's total value locked (TVL) had reached $536 million, making it a market leader in the RWA sector. In February 2025, Ondo announced the launch of Ondo Chain, a Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for institutional-grade RWAs, combining the openness of public blockchains with the compliance of permissioned chains.

Chainlink

Chainlink is a key infrastructure project within the RWA ecosystem. As a decentralized oracle network, it delivers reliable off-chain data for tokenized assets. Its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) enables seamless transfer of tokenized assets across blockchains, ensuring transparency and security of data. Chainlink's applications in the RWA field include providing market data for real estate tokenization and interest rate information for bond tokenization, among others. Its market position has made it an indispensable partner for RWA projects.

MakerDAO

A pioneer in the DeFi field, MakerDAO has expanded into the RWA sector through its stablecoin DAI and RWA-backed collateralized loans. It allows property owners to use their assets as collateral to borrow DAI, thereby injecting liquidity into the real estate market. Its native governance token, MKR, has a market cap of around $1.22 billion, highlighting its strong influence in both RWA and DeFi markets.

Other Projects

Centrifuge: Focused on tokenizing illiquid assets such as invoices and real estate, Centrifuge provides decentralized financing channels for small and medium-sized enterprises.

RealT: Specializing in real estate tokenization, RealT allows investors to purchase tokenized shares of U.S. properties starting from as little as $50.

Algorand: Algorand supports the tokenization of diverse types of assets, including real estate and intellectual property, with Algorand Standard Assets (ASAs).

Conclusion

RWAs bring real-world assets onto the blockchain through tokenization, dramatically improving asset liquidity, accessibility, and transparency and redefining ownership and investment models. With increasingly open policies in countries like the U.S., expanding use cases in real life, and the momentum fueled by leading projects, RWAs are emerging as the next major frontier in Web3 and global finance. Whether it's Web2 giants like Robinhood or Web3-native projects such as Ondo Finance and Chainlink, innovation in the RWA sector is creating unprecedented opportunities for investors and the industry. As technology advances and regulations mature, RWAs are set to revolutionize the global financial landscape over the next decade.