The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market has grown by 380% in just three years, reaching $24 billion this month in a sign that traditional finance is finding benefits from embracing blockchain technology, according to a report from RedStone, Gauntlet and RWA.xyz.
“Asset tokenization has decisively transitioned from experimental pilots to scaled institutional adoption in 2024-2025,” the Real-World Assets in On-chain Finance Report concluded.
Tokenization refers to representing real-world assets such as stocks and bonds as tokens that can be bought, sold and traded on blockchains, with the goal of reducing some of the costs and inefficiencies associated with legacy infrastructure.
Projections for how large this market could grow to vary wildly, but many seem to involve a number multiple that starts with a “t.” McKinsey predicts it to become a $2 trillion market, while BCG estimates $16 trillion by 2030.
The report by RedStone et al cites Standard Chartered’s projection of it growing to some $30 trillion by 2034.
“The RWA market’s explosive growth is not just impressive number — it’s evidence that traditional finance is finding genuine utility in blockchain infrastructure. From BlackRock’s $2.9 billion BUIDL fund to Apollo’s ACRED private credit tokenization, we’re witnessing the early stages of what could be the largest capital migration in financial history,” the report said.
While stablecoins, tokens pegged to the value of a traditional financial asset such as a fiat currency, are not typically regarded as RWA tokenization, the report argues that real-world assets could serve a similar role.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that stablecoins could bolster U.S. dollar supremacy, a sentiment that could equally apply to tokenized Treasuries.
“These words should be interpreted within the broader U.S.-denominated RWA category — tokenized Treasuries directly help finance government operations and manage public debt levels, while tokenized corporate bonds and private credit strengthen dollar dominance by expanding USD-denominated investment opportunities in the global digital economy,” the report said.