Written by: OAK Research
Compiled by: Dingdang ( @XiaMiPP )
introduction
The tokenization of real-world assets is often seen as a multi-trillion dollar opportunity. Perhaps that's true, but it's not the most important issue right now. It masks a more crucial question for 2026: once assets are truly migrated on-chain, who will capture the value?
In 2025, RWA's status underwent a fundamental change. For a long time, tokenization remained largely an experimental project; now, it has evolved into a mature, scalable on-chain market. RWA's total value grew from approximately $3 billion in 2022 to over $35 billion by the end of 2025. This growth stemmed from both the entry of institutional funds and the continued market demand for "on-chain yield products backed by compliant assets."
This trend is profoundly reshaping the landscape of on-chain finance. More and more projects are building products around asset custody, issuer control, identity verification, and transfer rules . Secondary liquidity no longer depends solely on technology, but increasingly on the existence of compliant trading venues, the portability of assets across different platforms, and the ability to handle regulatory constraints across different jurisdictions.
Therefore, RWA is not a single, homogeneous asset class. It relies on a complex system composed of multiple, interconnected layers, from blockchain infrastructure to custody to distribution platforms. All layers are indispensable, but their roles in power and value capture are not equal.
In 2026, the key to understanding RWA will no longer be "which assets have been tokenized and why", but rather identifying: where exactly is the control point located in the stack? And how does economic value flow and redistribute among different participants?
This is precisely the question that this article attempts to answer.
Overall structure of the RWA stack
The RWA space is not comprised of a single type of participant, but rather built upon a multi-layered, stacked system. Each layer plays a distinct and unique role in transforming traditional assets into on-chain investment tools.
All of these layers are necessary for the system to function, but they are not equal in their ability to capture value. One part consists of clearly identifiable operational participants (such as blockchains, custodians, issuers, etc.), while the other part is the horizontal conditional layer, which determines whether the former can be successfully deployed, attract capital, and achieve scaled operation.
Operational layer
The operational layer comprises the entities directly involved in the issuance, distribution, and access of RWAs. They constitute the day-to-day operational structure of the RWA market, control most of the key points of control, and capture a significant proportion of the value.
Infrastructure Layer (Blockchain and Hosting)
The infrastructure layer forms the bottom layer of the RWA stack, including the blockchain network and custody solutions, enabling tokenized assets to exist, circulate, and be securely stored. This layer is responsible for value transfer, near-instant settlement, and synchronization between the underlying assets and their on-chain representation.
It is indispensable, but as the market matures, it tends to become standardized . Ultimately, value will concentrate on what is considered the safest and most robust infrastructure. The infrastructure layer is a prerequisite for system operation, but its value capture capability is relatively limited compared to higher layers in the stack.
Issuer
The issuer is the first key point of control in the RWA stack. They decide which assets can be tokenized, how the structure should be designed, what level of risk they should bear, and under what conditions investors can enter or exit.
Whether it's US Treasury bonds, private lending, stocks, or commodities, these products all rely on complex offline legal and financial structures and need to be accurately mapped onto the blockchain. Issuers are not merely "providing assets"; they are actually ensuring the legal and economic consistency of the entire system.
distribution
The distribution layer includes the platforms, applications, and interfaces through which investors access RWA, such as lending marketplaces and DEXs. It determines which products are visible and usable, and how easy it is to deploy funds.
In reality, the products that attract the most funding are often not the most complex or sophisticated assets, but rather the easiest to acquire and the smoothest to integrate into the user journey. Distribution directly determines adoption rates, liquidity, and expansion speed. Whoever controls the entry point controls the flow of capital.
Conditional layer
The conditions layer does not correspond to any specific participant, but rather is a set of horizontal standards that determine whether the operational layer can function smoothly, build trust, and capture value in the long term.
Regulation, compliance and redemption mechanism
Regulation is a core component of RWA tokenization. KYC processes, access controls, transfer rules, and redemption mechanisms will not disappear because of the blockchain; rather, they must be more systematically integrated into the product.
This layer determines whether institutional investors can enter, whether the rights attached to the token are recognized, and whether it has the ability to expand across jurisdictions. Therefore, the choice of jurisdiction is itself a highly strategic decision, as the regulatory frameworks of different jurisdictions vary significantly.
Liquidity and the Secondary Market
Liquidity is the intersection between the "theoretical promises" and "real-world usability" of tokenization. Even if an asset has a perfect structure and is fully compliant, its actual value is still limited if it cannot be traded, cannot be used as collateral, and cannot be easily withdrawn.
Secondary market depth, compliant trading platforms, and lending mechanisms determine whether RWA can truly integrate into a financial strategy system. Only after liquidity is achieved do the other layers truly become meaningful.
Odaily Odaily Note: Tokenization is highly anticipated, but the current problem is that most tokenized assets operate in extremely fragile and illiquid markets. Related reading: " Large funds are starting to take it seriously, highlighting RWA's liquidity problem ."
Risk and Financial Engineering
Risk management and structural design are the final steps in determining value capture. Over-collateralization, tiered structures, insurance, and leverage transform simple assets into complex financial products tailored to the needs of different investors.
Historical experience shows that this layer has always been one of the most important sources of value in the financial system. In the RWA field, this layer is still under construction, but it is very likely to become the most core value creation lever in the long run.
Main tokenized asset types
Having understood the structure of the RWA stack, we can observe how this logic is specifically reflected in different asset classes. Their maturity and value capture capabilities vary, but each reveals different facets of tokenization.
Stablecoins
Stablecoins are the cornerstone of the RWA market. Almost all on-chain fund flows related to real-world assets use stablecoins as the unit of account, medium of payment, and settlement tool.
Stablecoins, initially seen simply as "digital dollars," have undergone a profound transformation. A large number of stablecoins are now backed by high-quality real-world assets, particularly short-term U.S. Treasury bonds. This structure explains both their stability and their growing appeal to institutional investors, who view stablecoins as highly liquid, predictable, and operationally compliant instruments.
Therefore, stablecoins play a dual role in the RWA stack: on the one hand, they are the main liquidity channels for funds to enter and exit the ecosystem; on the other hand, they themselves constitute one of the largest tokenization cases, with their reserves actually corresponding to a huge portfolio of tokenized sovereign debt.
In practice, stablecoins are not just products, but also infrastructure. They ensure settlement continuity, market liquidity, and connectivity between traditional finance and on-chain finance, thus capturing structural value across the RWA market.
Case Study: Ethena (USDe)
Ethena is a decentralized protocol, best known for its stablecoin USDe. USDe generates yield through a Delta-neutral strategy, with an annualized return of approximately 5%–15% depending on market conditions.
In September 2025, Ethena launched Ethena Whitelabel—a "Stablecoin-as-a-Service" infrastructure that allows any blockchain, application, or wallet to quickly issue stablecoins while significantly reducing technical complexity.
This is a major innovation because it directly addresses the issue of " stablecoin taxation ." Currently, the stablecoin market is controlled by a duopoly of Tether and Circle, which together hold approximately 95% of the market share and generate billions of dollars in revenue through the size of their collateralized assets.
In contrast, the blockchains, protocols, and users that support the operation and distribution of stablecoins are almost unable to share in this value. Ethena is attempting to solve this value outflow problem through USDe.
US Treasury bonds
US Treasury bonds are currently the most mature and dominant RWA (Recovery and Investor) segment. By tokenizing the world's safest and most liquid asset, issuers offer investors continuous access, near-instant settlement, and the ability to hold assets in a fragmented manner.
The primary purpose of these products is clear: to provide secure, yielding, and regulatory-compliant collateral assets within on-chain financial protocols. Tokenized US Treasury bonds allow crypto investors to directly access US sovereign debt yields without relying on traditional financial channels.
Since the Federal Reserve's interest rates exceeded the yields of most stablecoins in 2023, institutional interest in such products has increased significantly. The reliable yields, consistent liquidity, and collateral value of tokenized US Treasuries have made them an important tool for on-chain fund management.
Some key data indicators:
Since the beginning of 2023, the total market capitalization of mainstream tokenized U.S. Treasury products has grown from almost zero to nearly $9 billion.
In 2025 alone, the size of tokenized US Treasury bonds increased by $4.4 billion, representing an 85% year-on-year increase.
BlackRock’s USD Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) dominates the market, followed by Circle’s USYC and several Ondo products.
In terms of on-chain deployment, Ethereum is the primary network for tokenized US Treasury bonds, followed by Arbitrum, Polygon, BNB Chain, and Solana.
Securitize is currently the most core tokenization service provider, although WisdomTree, Franklin Templeton, and Centrifuge have also seen significant growth in recent years.
This niche market clearly demonstrates a trend: value is shifting from purely technical infrastructure to issuers who can build products that are "simple in structure, clearly compliant, and easy to integrate".
Case Study: BUIDL (BlackRock)
BlackRock's USD Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) is BlackRock's first tokenized fund. This product brings traditional institutional-grade money market fund strategies on-chain, combining daily profit distribution, multi-chain deployment capabilities, and deep liquidity through partners such as Securitize and Circle.
BUIDL distributes its products through the US-compliant platform Securitize, enabling it to target high-threshold institutional clients with a high minimum investment amount, a stable net asset value (NAV) of $1, and a product experience featuring daily on-chain dividends. The fund is deployed across multiple blockchain networks using Wormhole cross-chain technology, including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and Aptos.
Currently, BUIDL's assets under management exceed $2.5 billion. Despite the extremely limited number of holders (only 93 investors ), this size fully reflects the high level of institutional recognition and commitment to tokenized funds.
Non-US sovereign debt
The tokenization of non-US sovereign debt extends the advantages embodied in US Treasury bonds to other public issuers. It significantly reduces the operational complexity of cross-border investment in foreign government bonds while maintaining an institutionally acceptable regulatory framework.
In the traditional financial system, purchasing foreign sovereign debt typically involves multiple intermediaries, complex jurisdictional settlement rules, and even lengthy settlement cycles. Tokenization makes these assets more accessible, allows for faster settlement, and is more capital-efficient, while still meeting the compliance requirements of institutional investors.
Although this segment is still small, it clearly reflects RWA's trend towards geographical diversification. Value capture in this area is highly dependent on issuers' ability to navigate local regulatory frameworks and their capacity to offer easily understandable and usable products to global investors.
Currently, the non-US sovereign RWA market is mainly dominated by issuers from Hong Kong (67% market share) and France (30%), which corresponds to the main tokenized funds identified in this category, namely ChinaAMC in Asia and Spiko in Europe.
Case Study: Spiko
Spiko, a French fintech company founded in 2023, has grown into Europe's largest issuer of euro-denominated tokenized money market funds. Its products enable businesses to allocate funds backed by French, British, and US Treasury bonds.
In January 2026, Spiko announced that it had obtained the MiFID investment management license granted by the ACPR and AMF, which means that it can provide services in compliance throughout the European Union.
Spiko is one of the fastest-growing RWA projects in 2025, with its TVL growing from $130 million to over $730 million. These assets are distributed across the Spiko Euro Fund ($523 million), the Spiko Dollar Fund ($202 million), and the Spiko Pound Fund, which launched in December.
Private lending
Private lending is one of the asset classes with the greatest potential for tokenization. This sector has long been illiquid and open only to professional investors, but its clear cash flow and automated loan monitoring make it a natural fit for on-chain implementation.
Tokenization allows off-the-counter debt instruments such as corporate loans and trade finance to be broken down into smaller, potentially tradable units, improving liquidity for lenders and broadening financing options for borrowers. It also enables real-time tracking of collateral, repayment progress, and cash flow.
This section emphasizes a core fact in the RWA stack: value lies not only in the underlying assets themselves, but also in the ability to design, analyze, and manage risk structures. As the market matures, differentiated competition will increasingly depend on risk control capabilities and structural credibility .
Case Study: Maple Finance
Maple is a clear example of the demand for on-chain financial products backed by private lending. The protocol offers permissioned liquidity pools backed by BTC lending, and also offers permissionless liquidity pools built around syrupUSD using syrupUSDC and syrupUSDT. This allows Maple to serve both KYC-compliant institutional clients and crypto-native users.
In 2025, Maple achieved significant growth. Its assets under management (AUM) exceeded $4.5 billion (+800%), total institutional borrowings reached $1.7 billion, and agreement revenue approached $11.7 million (+370%).
A key advantage of Maple lies in its clear understanding that distribution capability is one of the most critical foundational modules for RWA products, as discussed earlier. This protocol creates concrete and viable use cases for syrupUSDC and syrupUSDT by expanding integration across multiple new blockchains and key partners.
In 2025, Maple deployed its products to Solana via Kamino and Jupiter; to Plasma via Midas; to Arbitrum via Fluid, Euler, and Aave; and recently expanded to Base via Aave as well.
Tokenized Stocks
Tokenized shares are digital representations of shares in publicly traded or privately held companies, enabling continuous trading outside of traditional market trading hours and faster settlement. For publicly traded stocks, these tokens are typically backed by real shares held in custodial accounts; for private equity, tokenization simplifies the management of equity structures and makes compliant secondary markets possible.
This segment is primarily driven by demand for asset exposure rather than revenue generation . It attracts a broader, often retail-oriented user base and highlights the central role of distribution capabilities and user experience in value capture.
Tokenized stocks demonstrate that even when the underlying asset is widely known, the value lies not in the asset itself, but in the organization's accessibility, liquidity, and compliance capabilities. Currently, most trading activity is still driven by the perpetual contract market, but some projects have begun to explore integrating the spot ownership of tokenized stocks into the on-chain financial system.
The catalyst for this sector came from Robinhood's announcement, followed by Backed Finance's launch of xStocks and Ondo Global Markets' subsequent entry. The number of tokenized stocks holders far exceeds that of other tokenized asset classes, surpassing 100,000 holders within a year. This reflects a predominantly retail investor structure, with a greater focus on asset exposure than returns.
From the perspective of the perpetual contract market, growth is equally evident. In Hyperliquid's HIP 3 market, Trade.xyz and Markets, which focus on tokenized stocks, have performed exceptionally well, with daily trading volume exceeding $800 million.
Featured Case: xStocks launched by Backed Finance
Backed Finance was an infrastructure provider responsible for issuing on-chain representations of traditional financial assets, including stocks, ETFs, and bonds. The company was acquired by Kraken in December 2025 and launched xStocks in June of the same year, offering tokenized stock products backed by real-world shares held by a Swiss custodian partner.
Currently, xStocks has been integrated into multiple centralized platforms, including Kraken, Gate, Bybit, and Bitget, and supports Ethereum, Solana, and Tron. More than 70 assets have been tokenized through xStocks, with total assets under management reaching $215 million and nearly 60,000 holders. This represents approximately 23% of the entire tokenized stock market.
The main winners of RWA in 2026
Entering 2026, the question is no longer whether tokenization will continue to grow, but rather: where exactly is the value concentrated as the market expands? The number of tokenized assets is increasing rapidly, but value capture remains highly uneven, mainly revolving around three types of participants who control issuance, distribution, and trust .
Stablecoin issuers
Stablecoin issuers are expected to remain the biggest beneficiaries of RWA growth. Even in more challenging market environments, the total supply of stablecoins tends to grow mechanically as the scale of payments, transactions, and tokenization activities expands.
Beyond settlement tools, stablecoins are increasingly being used as collateral, fund management tools, and cash management solutions for on-chain institutions. With increasing regulatory clarity in the US and Europe, the sector is expected to continue attracting new entrants while further solidifying the positions of leading players.
Participants to watch: Tether, Circle, Ethena, Sky, Paxos, PayPal
Tokenized financial asset issuers
Issuers of tokenized financial assets include asset management firms, fintech companies, and potentially sovereign entities in the future. Their role is to provide the infrastructure needed to issue tokenized assets, while reducing operational complexity and shortening settlement cycles.
Its core advantages do not primarily lie in cost reduction, but rather in distribution control, cash flow management, and sustainable recurring revenue. Issuers that plan ahead and build a trustworthy on-chain strategy are more likely to attract and concentrate liquidity and institutional attention.
Participants to watch: Securitize, xStocks, Unit, Superstate, Maple, Spiko, Ondo
Custodian
Custodians are likely to be the most critical, yet most undervalued, winners in the institutional tokenization process. As institutions increasingly interact with on-chain assets, the demand for secure, compliant, and insured custody solutions will be inevitable.
In a tokenized world, custody has long since transcended simple asset safekeeping. Custodians now also offer staking, governance, collateral management, reporting, and compliance services. The likelihood of institutions building these capabilities on their own is extremely low, further reinforcing the strategic position of established custody providers.
The tokenization process is expected to continue to accelerate by 2026, but the real winners will not necessarily be the participants with the largest number of tokenized assets. Value will be concentrated in those who control the key technology layers, manage market access, and can earn trust in large-scale operations.
Participants to watch: Coinbase, Anchorage, BitGo, Copper, Fireblocks, Zodia
Distributor
The core challenge for any RWA issuer is enabling users to easily enter and exit the market. Many projects have attempted to tokenize private lending, real estate, or alternative investments on-chain, but their common problem has often been a persistent lack of liquidity.
If investors cannot exit a tokenized asset at any time, they are not actually holding real liquid assets, but rather depending on whether another buyer is willing to take over the position. Without sufficient liquidity, tokenization does not solve the core problem of capital accessibility; it merely shifts the problem to other aspects. Therefore, market depth and trading continuity are necessary conditions for the sustainable growth of RWA.
This is precisely the role of distributors. They correspond to secondary markets and various protocols that enable tokenized assets to be traded, sold, used as collateral, lent, generated yield, or leveraged. Distributors transform static assets into truly usable financial components.
Within this category, money market protocols occupy a central position. Protocols such as Aave, Morpho, Euler, Spark, and Kamino enable tokenized asset holders to deploy them in more sophisticated strategies. By facilitating lending, recollateralization, and capital reuse, these protocols simultaneously enhance both the individual utility of RWAs and overall market liquidity.
Some DEXs also played a key role in this process. Platforms such as Uniswap, Jupiter, and Fluid facilitated price discovery and asset circulation, especially as tokenized assets began to be natively integrated into the DeFi ecosystem.
Finally, there is another group of participants worth mentioning separately. Pendle does not position itself as a traditional secondary market, but rather exists as a yield structuring layer. By enabling the splitting and trading of future yield streams, Pendle provides more sophisticated tools for optimizing, hedging, or amplifying exposure to tokenized assets.
As the RWA market matures, distributors are increasingly emerging as one of the most crucial control nodes in the entire technology stack. They ultimately determine the adoption rate, liquidity level, and whether tokenized assets can truly be established as usable financial instruments.
Participants to watch: Aave, Euler, Morpho, Kamino, Jupiter, Uniswap, Spark, Pendle
