Tokenized Real-World Assets Show Resilience Amid Cryptocurrency Market Turmoil
Demand for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) has shown significant growth over the past month, despite the broader cryptocurrency markets experiencing substantial selling pressure. According to Cointelegraph, this trend highlights the sector's resilience and its expanding institutional presence.
Data from RWA.xyz indicates that the total value of onchain RWAs increased by 13.5% over the past 30 days. This growth is attributed to higher asset issuance, with more tokenized securities being introduced to public blockchains, and an increase in the number of unique wallet addresses holding these assets, suggesting a rise in participation. As of February 16, major blockchain networks tracked by RWA.xyz, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Solana, recorded significant increases in tokenized asset value, with Ethereum leading at approximately $1.7 billion in net growth, followed by Arbitrum at $880 million and Solana at $530 million.
Excluding stablecoins, the net growth in tokenized securities such as Treasurys, private credit, and other yield-bearing instruments has accelerated over the past 30 days. Tokenized US Treasurys and government debt remain the largest RWA category, with over $10 billion in outstanding onchain products. Flows into these instruments continued during the period, while tokenized stocks and exchange-traded products also posted gains.
The steady demand for tokenized RWAs indicates deeper institutional participation, as asset managers increasingly utilize public blockchains to issue and settle tokenized versions of traditional financial products. Tokenized money market funds are evolving beyond simple yield vehicles and are beginning to serve as collateral in certain trading and lending markets. Major institutions, including BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs, have become active participants in this space. BlackRock recently made its first formal move into decentralized finance by introducing its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) tokenized US Treasury fund to Uniswap.
This growth contrasts sharply with the broader cryptocurrency market, which has lost approximately $1 trillion in market value over the past month, underscoring the relative stability of yield-bearing tokenized assets. The total crypto market has continued to unravel since October, with losses intensifying in January. Derivatives markets have been a key source of stress, with a large-scale deleveraging event in October triggering broader weakness across digital assets. Conditions have yet to fully recover, and sentiment remains fragile even as equities continue trading near record highs.
