Wall Street’s On-Chain Takeover: Tokenized Assets Skyrocket 100% in 12 Months
Traditional finance finally caught the crypto bug—and it's spreading faster than a hedge fund's risk disclosures.
The numbers don't lie
Tokenized assets just doubled in a year as institutional players colonize blockchain rails. Suddenly everyone from BlackRock interns to Goldman lifers can't stop whispering about smart contracts at cocktail parties.
Why the sudden FOMO?
24/7 markets cut settlement times from days to minutes. Programmable securities bypass entire back-office departments. And let's be honest—nothing juices an asset manager's fees like slapping 'blockchain' on a prospectus.
The revolution won't be decentralized—not with these players involved—but it will be profitable. At least until the next SEC subpoena drops.
Total value of RWAs on-chain, excluding stablecoins, with breakdown by asset type | Source: RWA.xyz
Tokenized private credit was by far the biggest segment, accounting for more than half of all RWA value, at $15.3 billion. At the same time, tokenized treasuries were the segment that saw the biggest growth, rising 80% year to date to $7.31 billion.
BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, which offers tokenized U.S. Treasuries, leads among all RWA issuers, with $2.397 billion in value. Tether Gold (XAUT) tokenized gold is in second place, with $1.252 billion in value.
Why Wall Street is betting on RWAs
Tokenized assets offer investors an easier way to get exposure to traditional assets. For instance, private credit was typically available only to select banks and institutional investors. With RWAs, companies can look for funding from a broader range of investors.
The same goes for tokenized U.S. Treasuries, which offer an easy way for foreign investors to access this market. This enables Wall Street to grow the markets for its services, which is why many companies are jumping in.
Interestingly, stablecoins could be considered the biggest RWA segment. Technically tokenized cash, the total value of all stablecoins is currently $266.74 billion. This WOULD make stablecoins over 90% of the RWA market if they were counted as RWA assets. Still, due to their different utility, they are usually not.
