In 2025, the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) ceased to be an experiment and took a significant place in crypto infrastructure. Distributed RWA reached nearly $19 billion in value, while represented assets tied to issuer platforms exceeded approximately $400 billion. Meanwhile, stablecoins remained the largest part of the tokenization ecosystem — around $300 billion in value and over 200 million holders.
What Are Tokenized Real-World Assets (RWA)?
Tokenized real-world assets are blockchain tokens representing ownership or economic exposure to traditional assets such as government bonds, loans, commodities, and equities. These tokens enable fractional ownership, simplify settlements, and provide transparent transaction data, enhancing overall transparency. For investors, this means easier access to assets and the ability to utilize them within programmable financial mechanisms.
RWA Market Growth in 2025
In 2025, the RWA sector showed a clear split by issuance form: tokens freely transferable between wallets and protocols accounted for about $19 billion in value, while represented assets locked with issuers reached nearly $400 billion. This ratio highlights that asset mobility and the ability to interact with other on-chain products are becoming key demand drivers. Additionally, stablecoins dominated the market by volume and were actively used as liquidity stores.
Categories of Tokenized Assets
Tokenized U.S. Treasury Bonds
Tokenized U.S. Treasuries became a cornerstone of the distributed RWA segment, reaching nearly $9 billion on-chain by year-end. These products offered pragmatic yields and relatively predictable outcomes, attracting capital seeking stability in the on-chain environment. Issuers focusing on regulatory compliance and liquidity provision significantly boosted institutional trust.
Loans and Bonds
Debt instruments expanded in various directions: beyond government securities, private lending protocols increased issuance volumes and became a notable market segment in 2025. By year-end, such protocols issued over $29 billion in loans, with a significant portion of these positions remaining active. In this category, yield was paired with risk, and the market clearly accounted for repayment terms and borrower quality.
Commodities, Including Gold
Tokenized commodities confirmed steady investor interest, with the majority of the $3.7 billion sector represented by tokens backed by physical gold. This format combined a traditional safe-haven asset with on-chain transparency, making gold a prominent element in tokenized product portfolios.
Funds and Equities
Tokenized funds and public equities developed steadily: funds broadened their offerings, while tokenized equities showed growth in holder numbers and transfer volumes. In one notable instance, the number of equity token holders increased nearly 15% within a single month, indicating interest in fractional ownership and 24/7 trading.
Technical Aspects and Blockchains
Technically, Ethereum remained the primary settlement layer for RWA, hosting the majority of tokenized products and value. However, the sector clearly became multichain: several projects and issuers utilized BNB Chain, Solana, Arbitrum, Stellar, Avalanche, and Polygon depending on fee requirements and compliance tools. Network choice increasingly became an engineering decision focused on cost and compatibility rather than ideological preference.
For a detailed review of networks and their achievements over the year, see the best blockchains of 2025, which compares key characteristics. For context on how tokenization impacts traditional financial processes, the article what is tokenization is useful.
RWA Development Prospects in 2026
The article notes that in 2026, the transfer of assets to on-chain formats and the push for portability of represented products are expected to continue. Improvements in cross-chain infrastructure and strengthened regulatory oversight were also highlighted as key sector development directions. Platforms that can combine compliance, transparency, and technical compatibility have better chances for sustainable operation in the evolving landscape.
Why It Matters
For miners, these changes may not directly impact mining revenue, but indirect effects are noticeable: increased RWA activity raises demand for blockchain throughput and infrastructure where tokens reside, potentially altering transaction load profiles and fees. Additionally, token concentration on certain networks makes understanding their technical requirements and economics crucial for assessing mining strategy sustainability.
What to Do?
If you manage from one to a thousand devices, it’s helpful to follow simple practices: monitor load and fee dynamics on networks concentrating RWA; keep firmware and pool configurations up to date; and evaluate how flexibly you can switch between coins or pools as profitability changes. It’s also wise to track liquidity availability in stablecoins and tokenized assets if you convert rewards on on-chain markets.
Finally, stay informed about regulatory and infrastructure developments and read practical reviews — for example, on mining in 2025, see the article cryptocurrency mining 2025, which helps understand infrastructure trends and their impact on operational decisions.