RWA & DeFi
RWAs Eclipse DeFi as Tokenization Gains Momentum
Tokenized real-world assets are outperforming DeFi as institutional adoption grows. Here's why RWAs could become crypto's next major growth engine.
9d ago 4,280
BLOCKINSIDERLoadingTokenized real-world assets are outperforming DeFi as institutional adoption grows. Here's why RWAs could become crypto's next major growth engine.
DeFi has steadily lost billions in locked value over the past year, while tokenized real-world assets have continued climbing. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez suggests that investors are increasingly putting money into blockchain-based versions of traditional financial assets rather than crypto-native protocols.
This growth in RWAs could help boost tokenization to a $100 billion on-chain market.
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez recently highlighted a growing gap between the DeFi and RWA markets. His data shows DeFi's total value locked (TVL) steadily falling after peaking in late 2025, while the value of tokenized real-world assets continued climbing throughout the same period.
According to DeFiLlama, the tokenized RWA market grew from roughly $5.5 billion in early 2025 to nearly $27.89 billion by mid-2026, even as the broader crypto market fell around 28%, and DeFi TVL declined by more than 25% during the first half of the year.
The data suggests that capital isn't necessarily leaving crypto altogether. Instead, it is moving into a different part of the market.
Unlike most crypto assets, RWAs represent things that already exist in the real world.
These include stocks, U.S. Treasury bonds, commodities, private credit, real estate, and investment funds that are converted into digital tokens on a blockchain. Instead of creating a new asset, tokenization gives traditional assets the benefits of blockchain, including faster settlement, 24/7 trading, and easier global access.
That shift has also attracted some of the world's biggest financial firms.
BlackRock has expanded its tokenized Treasury offerings, while JPMorgan and Franklin Templeton continue growing their blockchain-based government money funds.
Over the past few months, DTCC has tested tokenized stocks, ETFs and Treasury securities with nearly 40 major financial institutions, including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock.
At the same time, Swift is developing infrastructure that allows banks to move tokenized assets across its global network instead of building an entirely new payment system.
Crypto companies are also moving quickly. Exchanges like Kraken and Binance are expanding access to tokenized financial products, while platforms such as Robinhood are exploring blockchain as part of their long-term strategy.
Due to this growth, RWA.xyz estimates that the total value of tokenized real-world assets on public blockchains has already reached $34.97 billion.
As tokenized assets grow, centralized exchanges (CEXs) are becoming more than places to trade cryptocurrencies.
Binance currently leads the market with around 35.9% of tokenized TradFi perpetual trading volume, followed by MEXC and Hyperliquid. Their strong liquidity allows traders to buy and sell tokenized assets more efficiently while keeping spreads relatively tight.
Rather than replacing traditional stock exchanges overnight, these platforms are positioning themselves to become an important gateway for the next generation of tokenized financial products.
Another major trend is the rapid growth of RWA perpetual futures, which allow traders to speculate on the price of tokenized assets without owning them directly.
Across 17 exchanges, RWA perpetuals have generated more than $821.8 billion in cumulative trading volume in just 21 weeks. Around 28% of that volume came from decentralized exchanges, showing that on chain trading is becoming a meaningful part of the market.
The number of available RWA perpetual products has also increased sharply, with equities accounting for nearly 72% of new listings.
The growing demand has led some analysts to believe that RWA perpetuals could eventually become a $100 billion on-chain market based on open interest.
If this trend continues, tokenization could become the next major chapter for the crypto industry.
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