Tokenized Real-World Assets Surge in Institutional Finance

According to Cointelegraph, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) have transitioned from a niche concept to a significant component of institutional finance, with private credit emerging as a leading sector. This development is highlighted in RedStone’s H1 2025 RWA Market Overview, co-authored by DeFi protocol Gauntlet and data platform RWA.xyz. The report notes that the tokenized RWA market, excluding stablecoins, has expanded by 380% since 2022, reaching a total value of $24 billion. Private credit, also known as direct lending, now constitutes over half of the RWA market, amounting to $14 billion. This sector offers investors yields between 8% and 12%, with products like Apollo’s ACRED fund being prominent examples. FS Investments, an alternative asset manager, points out that investors have traditionally favored private credit for its yield premium over public credit markets. RedStone emphasizes that tokenization is enhancing settlement speed and liquidity, reducing entry barriers, and enabling fractional participation, which were previously lacking in private credit markets. Ethereum continues to be the dominant platform for tokenized RWAs, despite competition from faster and more scalable blockchains. By mid-2025, Ethereum hosted approximately $7.5 billion in tokenized value across 335 products, representing 59% of the total market. The report mentions that Ethereum’s decentralized governance has historically limited its institutional reach, but the launch of Etherealize in January 2025 marked a strategic shift to attract more institutional participation onchain. Ethereum is often referred to as the "institutional standard" for RWA activities. The report also identifies Solana as a "high-performance challenger" in the tokenized Treasury market, hosting around $351 million in tokenized assets as of June. Aptos has seen increased RWA deployment, with $349 million in tokenized assets, and was the first non-Ethereum Virtual Machine network for BlackRock’s BUIDL fund. Additionally, Avalanche hosts $188 million in tokenized assets, including KKR’s tokenized fund, while XRP Ledger has emerged as a "regulated newcomer" with $157 million in tokenized RWAs.