The global tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market continues to show impressive growth,reaching an all-time high of $12 billion in September 2024. The surge is driven by tokenized U.S. Treasuries, private credit, commodities, stocks, and real estate.
According to the latest report by Binance Research, the global RWA market hit an all-time high of $12 billion in September 2024, excluding the stablecoin market cap, which exceeded $175 billion.
The report reveals that the main catalyst behind this growth is tokenized U.S. Treasuries, whose capitalization in 2024 rose from $769 million to more than $2.2 billion in just a few months. Analysts attribute the surge in popularity to the appeal of high U.S. interest rates, maintained by the Fed at a 23-year high of 5.25–5.5%. Such rates made U.S. Treasuries one of the safest and most profitable assets, attracting significant investments in the sector.
In March 2024, the tokenized U.S. Treasury market exceeded $1 billion and analysts predict it could reach $3 billion by the end of the year.
Leading the charge in U.S. Treasury tokenization are companies Ondo Finance and Securitize. The capitalization of tokenized investment fund BUIDL, created by Securitize in cooperation with BlackRock, exceeded $500 million, while treasury bond fund FOBXX, a product of cooperation between Ondo Finance and Franklin Templeton, surpassed $440 million.
Binance Research analysts also noted that private credit contributed significantly to the growth of the RWA market. The tokenized private credit sector grew by 56% over the past year, despite rising interest rates negatively impacting some borrowers. As of September 2024, the capitalization of the tokenized private credit market is ~$9 billion, with more than 90% of these assets issued and distributed through the Figure platform, which uses the Provenance blockchain to provide transparency and reduce transaction costs.
Among other active categories in the RWA market, analysts include tokenized commodities, stocks, and real estate. Besides, new asset categories, such as tokenized air rights, carbon credits, and fine art, are gaining popularity within the sector.
However, despite rapid growth, analysts warned that the RWA market faces a number of technical risks, namely:
- high levels of centralization;
- dependence on third-party custodians;
- the need for more robust blockchain oracle solutions.
In April 2024, the total value locked (TVL) in RWA tokenization protocols reached $8 billion, and by May, the RWA market cap exceeded $8.8 billion. According to analysts’ forecasts, the tokenized assets market could hit $30.1 trillion by 2034.
