Do real-world assets (RWAs) represent blockchain’s next major boom? Many experts certainly think so – and the numbers back up their confidence. This year, projections suggest $50 billion of real-world value will be brought on-chain, while Standard Chartered believe a mind-blowing $30 trillion could be tokenized by 2034. It simply doesn’t get any bigger.
From bonds, equities and treasuries to real estate, freight and art, tokenized RWAs are cracking open illiquid markets, letting anyone and everyone trade assets that were once locked behind institutional gates. That’s the beauty of blockchain: anyone with a web3 wallet can join the party.
For those still in the dark, tokenizing RWAs means turning traditional, often physical assets into digital tokens, making them tradable, transparent, and divisible. It’s about combining the speed and trustlessness of DeFi with the stability and liquidity of TradFi, with attendant improvements in transparency, liquidity, execution – you get the gist.
So, which platforms are leading the charge? Here’s our rundown of the top five entities tokenizing real-world assets right now.
Ondo
In the words of a certain UFC fighter, Ondo isn’t here to take part, it’s here to take over. It intends to achieve this by building institutional-grade platforms to simplify the tokenization of RWAs on Ondo Chain, its bespoke Layer-1 network.
With Ondo Chain, validators can stake assets like bonds or real estate to secure Ondo’s network, bridges, and oracles. Traders can also margin up on both RWAs and crypto, and even use restaked RWAs to secure new chains and protocols. Hell, gas fees can also be covered with RWAs.
With its native token recently surpassing $1 billion TVL, and having joined Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network as the latter’s first RWA provider, Ondo’s certainly staking its claim as a titan of tokenized finance. Interestingly, one of Ondo’s supported assets is OUSG, a tokenized asset that leverages BlackRock’s BUIDL – the world’s largest tokenized money market fund.
MANTRA
Licensed by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), MANTRA is a Layer-1 blockchain that’s already sealed several impressive partnerships. In addition to inking a $500 million real estate pact with MAG Partners, earlier this year it tied up a $1 billion deal with Dubai’s DAMAC Group to tokenize financing across real estate, hospitality, and data centers.
Instead of hardcoding regulatory compliance into its consensus, MANTRA takes a unique approach, with its smart contract modules offering flexible permissioning at the app level – perfect for navigating global rules. Its Liquidity Efficient Emissions Protocol (LEEP), meanwhile, is designed to tackle the liquidity crunch that often plagues tokenized RWAs even in traditional markets. For startups looking to start their tokenization journey, the best place to begin is with MANTRA’s Google Cloud-backed accelerator program, cheekily dubbed the RWAccelerator.
INX
Many web3 projects profess a desire to democratize finance, but U.S.-regulated platform INX backs up the big talk. For a start, it facilitates trading of crypto, security tokens, and RWAs – including the likes of S&P 500, Microsoft, Google, GameStop, Tesla, and Furahaa Group. It’s also a publicly traded company, responsible for the first ever SEC-registered security token (the INX token) in 2020, for which it raised $85 million from 7,000+ investors across 74 countries.
Last year, INX clocked $40 million in security token and RWA trading volume and Deputy CEO Itai Avneri is on record as calling security token offerings (STOs) and RWAs “the future.” If you’re not already paying attention to INX, you’re late to the party.
Mavryk
Mavryk is another – you guessed it – Layer-1 blockchain going all-in on RWAs. Currently gearing up for a mainnet release later this year, the network is currently in testnet mode, giving users the chance to interact with dApps, experiment with buying fractional RWA test shares, and earn rewards for their efforts.
When the highly-anticipated mainnet does arrive, Mavryk has confirmed that over $360 million worth of assets is ready to be tokenized without delay. With features including an on-chain protocol treasury, liquidity mining, and bug bounties, it’s little wonder Mavryk has already raised $5.2 million, attracting capital from a slew of top-tier VCs like Draper Gorne Holme and Ghaf Capital.
Polymesh
Polymesh is an open-source Swiss Army knife for RWAs, tokenizing everything from public and private equity to commodities, debt, real estate, carbon credits, art, and intellectual property (IP). Launched in 2021 and now on version 7.0, the blockchain is brimming with on-chain identity, compliance, and settlement features, the better to give institutions peace of mind.
Polymesh’s strategic partnership with institution-first digital asset custodian Zodia Custody, meanwhile, underlines its commitment to robust security for clients’ funds. Speaking of alliances, it counts real estate tokenization platform REtokens as part of its network: last year, the two collaborated to tokenize $30 million in real estate. Run by the Polymesh Association, whose 16 full-time contributors are drawn from the worlds of finance, tech, and law, the L1 features its very own grant program to incentivize developers to build on the platform.
The RWA Revolution Is Here
Page by page, the rulebook of global finance is being rewritten and there is a growing sense of the inevitability of on-chain RWAs. Whether Standard Chartered’s ‘$30 trillion by 2034’ forecast is a back-of-the-cigarette-packet calculation or an accurate projection remains to be seen, yet it’s easy to appreciate the appeal of real-world assets for investors of all stripes.
Whether you’re eyeing bonds, real estate, freight or something else, these five pioneers are open for business.
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