RWA: The $16 trillion asset on-chain revolution

A massive market projected to reach $16 trillion by 2030 is emerging.

Original Title: "RWA-- A New Term You Will Soon Need to Learn"

Author: Bu Shuqing

Source: Wall Street Insight

As you ponder the next frontier of cryptocurrency, a "key" connecting real assets to the digital world is quietly emerging.

According to a comprehensive institutional perspective, Real World Assets (RWA) are being transformed into on-chain digital tokens through blockchain technology, converting traditional financial assets and physical assets (such as U.S. Treasury bonds, real estate, and green energy). A huge market is expected to reach a scale of $16 trillion by 2030.

For investors, this means the arrival of a brand new era of asset allocation. Analysts believe that RWA can not only fragment previously illiquid assets (such as private equity and infrastructure), greatly lowering the investment threshold, but also provide on-chain investors with new targets that are linked to the real economy and offer more stable returns.

What is RWA?

RWA, which translates directly to "Real World Assets", refers to the process of tokenizing real-world assets (such as real estate, accounts receivable, carbon credits, power generation rights, etc.) through blockchain technology, enabling them to have the trading, splitting, and circulation capabilities of digital assets.

In short, RWA enables traditional assets that are "immovable, hard to sell quickly, and unaffordable to invest in" to behave like cryptocurrencies, allowing for small purchases, quick trading, and cross-border circulation.

According to Huaxi Securities and Caitong Securities, RWA has a dual significance for market participants:

• For asset providers: RWA offers an innovative financing channel with advantages such as fast financing, low costs, and strong liquidity. It can break down large, low-liquidity assets (such as real estate and infrastructure) into smaller shares for financing from global investors.
• For investors: RWA greatly enriches on-chain investment targets. Compared to the highly volatile native crypto assets, RWA is anchored to real assets, providing more stable returns. At the same time, its "fragmentation" feature allows ordinary investors to participate in high-value asset investments with a very low threshold (such as investing 50 USD in U.S. real estate), truly realizing a new inclusive financial ecosystem from "elite investment" to "everyone's investment."

The trillion-dollar track is poised for takeoff

Institutions generally believe that the global RWA market is on the brink of explosion.

According to data from RWA.xyz cited by Caifeng Securities, as of June 2025, the total global RWA assets, excluding stablecoins, have reached $25.5 billion.

The market is currently dominated by private credit (58.5%), U.S. Treasuries (29.6%), and commodities (6.4%). The dollar-denominated institutional digital liquidity fund (BUIDL) issued by BlackRock is the world's largest single RWA project, with a market value exceeding $2.8 billion.

RWA projects are mainly issued on public blockchains such as Ethereum (market share 58.2%), ZKsync, and Aptos.

The report cites a joint forecast by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and ADDX, predicting that by 2030, the global asset tokenization market will reach $16.1 trillion, accounting for 10% of global GDP.

From the Seed of Concept to Everything Being Chainable

RWA did not emerge out of thin air, but has gradually come to today through the joint promotion of the evolution of blockchain technology, the maturity of the DeFi ecosystem, financial institutions testing the waters, and the implementation of regulatory policies. Now, its reach is rapidly expanding from financial assets to the vast physical world, including real estate, energy, cultural tourism, and even AI computing power.

1. Concept Exploration Phase (2016–2018): Technical Prototypes and Thought Experiments

• In 2016, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed the thought experiment of on-chain exchanges and asset tokenization.
• Since 2017, platforms like Polymath and Harbor have been exploring on-chain securities, marking the beginning of RWA.
• In 2018, Uniswap used the AMM model to solve the on-chain liquidity problem, laying the foundation for the trading of on-chain assets such as RWA.

2. Infrastructure Construction Period (2019–2021): Platformization Attempts and DeFi Integration

• In 2019, Securitize, OpenFinance and others provided RWA token issuance and compliance services; the TAC Alliance promoted the standardization of tokens.
• Platforms like Centrifuge are starting to tokenize real assets such as accounts receivable and collaborate with DeFi platforms like MakerDAO to initiate on-chain lending scenarios.
• Stablecoins are gradually rising, becoming the trading foundation and value anchor of the RWA ecosystem.

3. Financial Institutions Entry Period (2022–2023): Traditional Capital Integrating with the Web3 World

• JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and others begin RWA pilot projects to push bonds and private equity assets on-chain.
• BlackRock and Franklin Templeton issue tokenized funds, RWA enters the "mainstream" view from DeFi.
• Platforms like Securitize and Ondo Finance are rising to become the core intermediary infrastructure for RWA on-chain assets. Stablecoins have become one of the largest application scenarios for RWA, serving as the "vanguard" of asset digitization.

4. Application Expansion Period (2024–Present): Transitioning from Financial Assets to the Real Economy

• Financial asset sector: covering bonds, funds and stocks, precious metals and commodities. Ondo launched the tokenized US Treasury fund OUSG, with a TVL ranking among the top global RWA platforms; Jarsy has fragmented equity stakes of unicorns like SpaceX on-chain, breaking the Pre-IPO investment threshold;

• Real Estate: RealT tokenizes residential properties in the United States, with investments starting at $50, truly realizing the "fractional ownership" of real estate; the Dubai government has launched an official RWA platform, planning to put $16 billion in real estate assets on-chain by 2033.

• Emerging Directions: AI computing power, carbon assets, agriculture, cultural tourism assets, and other non-standard fields are exploring RWA pathways, with huge potential in the future.

It is worth noting that stablecoins themselves are the most successful use case of RWA (tokenization of fiat), while also serving as a core medium of exchange in the RWA ecosystem, providing pricing and settlement tools for the on-chain circulation of various assets.

China: Hong Kong Policy Launched First, Green Assets in the Lead

In China, the development of RWA shows a characteristic of simultaneous policy-driven and industrial application, especially under the leadership of Hong Kong, where green assets and computing power have become prominent highlights.

Hong Kong is a policy highland for the development of RWA globally. Huaxi Securities points out that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority provides a compliance exploration space for RWA projects through the "Fintech Regulatory Sandbox" mechanism. In 2025, Hong Kong officially published the "Stablecoin Ordinance" and released the "Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0", clearly identifying RWA and stablecoins as core development directions, providing the market with a clear regulatory framework and development path.

Comprehensive research reports from institutions such as Huaxi Securities, Dongwu Securities, and Caitong Securities indicate that green energy assets are the pioneering area for the implementation of RWA in mainland China, with Ant Group serving as the core technology service provider.

• Charging Piles: In 2024, Longxin Group, in collaboration with Ant Financial, completed the first domestic RWA financing of 100 million RMB in Hong Kong, using 9,000 charging piles as underlying assets.
• Photovoltaics: GCL-Poly Energy anchors 82MW distributed photovoltaic power stations in two provinces, completing the world's first photovoltaic green asset RWA, with financing exceeding 200 million yuan.
• Battery Swap Station: Xunying Group completed the world's first battery swap asset RWA, financing tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars.
• Computing Power and Emerging Assets: Dongwu Securities and Huaxi Securities both emphasize the enormous potential of computing power RWA. With the advancement of the "East Data West Computing" project and the introduction of data center REITs, computing power assets have finally established a standardized foundation for blockchain. The computing power leasing market is expected to grow from $14.6 billion in 2024 to $63.6 billion by 2031. Projects like BEVM have partnered with computing power giants such as Bitmain to launch a multi-million dollar ecological support plan to promote the development of the computing power RWA ecosystem.

Core Challenges and Pain Points: Regulation, Technology, Market Risks.....

Despite the broad prospects, the reports from Guosheng Securities and Huaxi Securities also point out several major obstacles that RWA must overcome in its journey to mainstream adoption:

• Complexity of Regulation and Compliance: The tokenization of RWA assets with securities attributes subjects them to stringent securities law regulations. U.S. SEC commissioners have clearly warned that tokenized securities are still securities, and issues related to on-chain trading (over-the-counter trading) and offshore operations need to be addressed urgently. Conflicts in multinational regulatory rules also pose challenges for global circulation.
• On-chain and off-chain consistency: Ensuring that on-chain tokens accurately reflect the status of off-chain assets is a core pain point. This requires technologies such as IoT and AI to ensure the authenticity and credibility of off-chain data, addressing the "last mile" issues in trade, logistics, and other areas.

• Improvement of Technology and Infrastructure: The RWA ecosystem requires new infrastructure, including decentralized identity (DID) systems to meet compliance requirements, as well as new token standards like ERC-3643 that can embed regulatory rules.

• Market Risk: The current liquidity in the RWA secondary market is generally insufficient, and the pricing mechanisms for non-standard assets (such as artworks) are not yet mature. In addition, the custody of off-chain assets relies on centralized institutions, which poses counterparty risk.