Real-world asset protocols have surpassed decentralised exchanges to become the fifth-largest category in decentralised finance by total value locked during 2025.
Data from DefiLlama shows RWAs now hold around $17 billion in TVL, rising sharply from roughly $12 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The growth reflects how tokenised US Treasurys, private credit instruments and commodities have shifted from experimental use cases into core onchain infrastructure.
DefiLlama noted that RWAs were not even among the top ten DeFi categories at the start of the year, underlining the pace of adoption.
Market participants say the expansion is tied more to balance-sheet efficiency than speculative experimentation.
Balance-sheet incentives rather than experimentation are driving this growth.
Vincent Liu said.
Liu added that higher-for-longer interest rates have increased demand for tokenised Treasurys and private credit as yield-bearing onchain assets.
He also pointed to improving regulatory clarity as a factor reducing friction for institutional investors allocating capital onchain.
Earlier in 2025, RWAs excluding stablecoins grew to an estimated $24 billion, with private credit and tokenised Treasurys leading inflows.
Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) continues to dominate as the primary settlement layer for onchain debt and fund structures supporting RWAs.
RWA.xyz data shows a second tier of networks, including BNB Chain (CRYPTO:BNB), Avalanche (CRYPTO:AVAX), Solana (CRYPTO:SOL), Polygon (CRYPTO:MATIC) and Arbitrum (CRYPTO:ARB), capturing low-to-mid single-digit shares of public-chain RWA value.
Alongside public blockchains, permissioned systems such as Canton Network have emerged as major institutional hubs.
Canton Network is estimated to host more than 90% of institutional RWA market share through privacy-preserving and regulated infrastructure.
Tokenised US Treasurys remain the main gateway product for institutional participation in RWAs.
Funds such as BlackRock’s BUIDL, Circle’s USYC, Franklin Templeton’s BENJI and Ondo’s OUSG have pushed the tokenised Treasury segment into the multi-billion-dollar range.
The constraint is no longer tokenisation itself, but liquidity and integration into traditional finance.
Liu said.
He said attention in 2026 should shift from headline TVL figures to ownership, collateral usage and secondary market activity.
Rising gold and silver prices have added momentum to tokenised commodities as another growth driver.
Recent estimates place the tokenised commodities market capitalisation near $4 billion, led by products such as Tether Gold and Paxos Gold.
These moves are elevating tokenised commodities from niche RWAs to macro-relevant assets.
Liu stated.
He added that clearer pricing and custody standards are making tokenised commodities easier to integrate into DeFi and institutional systems.
Looking ahead to 2026, Liu highlighted behavioural validation as rising commodity prices attract issuance, liquidity and broader adoption.
He also said interoperability across chains will be critical for RWAs to function as neutral collateral rather than isolated products.