Original article | Odaily Odaily( @OdailyChina )
Author | Ethan ( @ethanzhang_web3 )
RWA sector market performance
According to the rwa.xyz data dashboard, as of March 17, 2026, on-chain assets continued to reach new highs this period . The total value of RWA on-chain assets further increased from $26.43 billion on March 10 to $27.05 billion, an increase of approximately $620 million in a single week, representing a growth rate of approximately 2.35%. The total value of representative assets also rebounded, increasing from $336.08 billion to $346.79 billion, an increase of approximately $10.71 billion, representing a growth rate of approximately 3.19%.
On the user side, growth continued, with the total number of asset holders increasing from 665,300 to 675,000, a weekly increase of approximately 9,730, or about 1.46%. Stablecoins as a whole remained above $300 billion, with the total market capitalization slightly decreasing from $301.04 billion to $300.54 billion, a decrease of approximately $500 million, or about 0.17%. The number of stablecoin holders continued to climb, rising from 233.94 million to 237.29 million, an increase of approximately 3.35 million, or about 1.43%.
In terms of asset structure, the total size of US Treasury bonds increased from $11 billion to $11.2 billion, an increase of approximately $200 million in a single week. Commodity assets remained stable at a high level, hovering around $5.7 billion, with little change compared to the previous week. Looking at a more detailed asset distribution, asset-backed credit had a market value of $3.1 billion, becoming the most important credit sector besides US Treasury bonds and commodities; special financial assets had a market value of $2.1 billion, indicating that scenario-based and customized financing needs are expanding on-chain; corporate credit was $723.2 million, while non-US government debt remained stable at around $1.2 billion; equity assets reached $1 billion; and private equity further contracted to around $308.6 million, indicating that investors remain cautious about allocating to low-liquidity, long-term equity assets.
(This week, the previously broad categories of private lending and institutional alternative funds have begun to be broken down into more granular categories such as asset-backed lending, specialized finance, corporate lending, diversified lending, and active strategies. Furthermore, smaller asset classes such as real estate and venture capital remain relatively marginal, having a limited impact on the overall picture.)
Trend Analysis (Compared to last week )
Overall, in this cycle, the on-chain distributed assets and broadly represented assets in the RWA market grew simultaneously, and the flow of funds remained clearly concentrated in high-certainty assets, with US Treasuries continuing to serve as the main reservoir of funds. At the same time, more segmented diversions began to emerge within credit assets, with asset-backed loans, special financial services, and corporate loans jointly absorbing some of the new funds, indicating that market risk appetite has slightly increased compared to the previous period, but remains rational and restrained.
Market keywords: accelerated overall growth, more detailed classification, rational sentiment.
Key Events Review
US SEC Chairman: Will consider innovation exemptions to facilitate trading of tokenized securities
At a meeting of the Investor Advisory Committee, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins noted that the agency will vote on proposals regarding the tokenization of equity securities. He expects the SEC to soon consider an innovation exemption to facilitate limited trading of certain tokenized securities and to work towards a long-term regulatory framework. Atkins also stated that the Cryptocurrency Working Group has held numerous roundtables and met with hundreds of market participants over the past 13 months, soliciting broad public feedback and receiving substantial written comments on how best to adapt the rules to accommodate new types of transactions. He added that suggestions on the design of potential innovation exemption schemes remain welcome.
In an article, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester M. Peirce wrote that a study has been initiated on an "innovation exemption" scheme for tokenized securities, allowing limited trading and technology trials of certain tokenized securities. This exemption scheme would be more cautious than the "comprehensive exemption" recommended by the industry. She believes that it is necessary to explore whether to allow different types of securities tokenization models to be tested under the innovation exemption framework, and to consider whether issuers need to agree to third parties issuing tokenized versions of their shares, in order to promote technological innovation while avoiding regulatory arbitrage and maintaining core investor protection mechanisms.
Hester M. Peirce also emphasized that regulators should not over-intervene in private capital allocation. Currently, the SEC is assessing several key issues, including: whether the existing disclosure regime is sufficient to cover the ownership structure of tokenized securities, the disclosure obligations of brokers and clearing houses in the issuance of tokenized securities, the compatibility of atomic settlement with the existing T+1 settlement rule, and the applicability of regulatory authority under no-intermediary or new intermediary structures.
The U.S. Senate Majority Leader said the Clarity Act is not expected to move forward before April.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated that the Clarity Act, a bill aimed at establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States, is not expected to pass the Senate Banking Committee before April. The House of Representatives had previously advanced the legislation, but debate continues in the Senate.
The main obstacle to the bill's progress lies in the issue of stablecoin yields, with the crypto industry and the banking sector yet to reach a compromise. The banking sector believes that allowing stablecoins to offer yields could lead to an outflow of deposits from traditional institutions, while Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Presidential Advisory Council on Digital Assets, stated this week that compliant stablecoins could attract new global capital to the US banking system.
In addition, the Senate passed a comprehensive housing bill that day, which includes provisions prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing CBDCs. This bill will be sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration and a vote. Currently, lawmakers are prioritizing President Trump's SAVE America Act, and Thune indicated that the Senate will vote on the bill next week.
JPMorgan analysts previously described the potential passage of crypto market structure legislation as a "positive catalyst" for the industry in the second half of the year. Trump also stated earlier this month on Truth Social that passing the Clarity Act is "the next step in getting things done" following the GENIUS Act.
During the DC Blockchain Summit hosted by The Digital Chamber, several U.S. lawmakers and industry figures will discuss the progress of stablecoin legislation. Tim Scott (Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee) is expected to be asked about the timeline for the next markup of the relevant bill at the event. Industry insiders revealed that negotiations surrounding stablecoin "yields" are nearing a consensus. Cody Carbone stated that the regulatory proposal may include prohibiting yields on idle stablecoin balances but allowing reward mechanisms based on transaction activity, and the relevant parties are expected to reach a solution within the next week.
Furthermore, Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks are considered key legislative drivers, both expressing concern about banks' worries regarding funds flowing from deposit accounts to high-yield crypto products. Industry insiders believe that once these two lawmakers reach a satisfactory agreement on the bill text, the stablecoin yield controversy is expected to be largely resolved, and regulatory focus will then shift to issues such as DeFi and token classification.
The European Central Bank announced a tokenized finance plan to enhance the EU's financial autonomy.
The European Central Bank announced on Wednesday a timeline for building a tokenized wholesale finance ecosystem in the eurozone, aimed at ensuring the euro's continued status as an international currency.
The strategy comprises two core projects: Pontes, a transaction layer based on distributed ledger technology, is expected to launch in the third quarter; and Appia, a long-term project planned to continue until 2028, when the Eurosystem will release a blueprint for a tokenized finance ecosystem, covering infrastructure, governance frameworks, and standards development.
European policymakers have identified financial infrastructure as a geopolitical issue, following an analysis by the European Parliament that Europe's reliance on foreign payment networks constitutes a "structural vulnerability" to its financial sovereignty. The plan aims to reduce dependence on non-European and dollar-centric financial systems, enhancing the EU's strategic autonomy and financial resilience.
Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB Executive Board, said that Appia aims to build a path from the current financial system to the future tokenized market, based on central bank money.
Hong Kong-listed stablecoin concept stock Bright Smart Securities Financial issued an announcement stating that Ant Group's takeover offer has been approved by relevant Chinese authorities and is expected to be completed on March 30. The company's stock will resume trading on March 17.
Andrei Grachev, Managing Partner of crypto market maker DWF Labs, points out that the "altseason" driven by the overall crypto market rally is becoming history. Factors such as the surge in the number of tokens, limited participant numbers, and the absorption of liquidity by crypto ETFs are changing the market structure. Currently, institutional funds are more inclined to allocate to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and tokenized real-world assets (RWA), further diverting attention and funds from Altcoin. The future market will see shorter narrative cycles and more dramatic sector rotations. Many mid-to-long-tail tokens will resemble high-risk venture capital or "casino-style" assets, unable to survive sustainably through mere speculation. Data shows that the Altcoin market capitalization has seen a cumulative outflow of over $209 billion in the past 13 months, and currently, approximately 38% of Altcoin prices are near historical lows.
According to Lookonchain, Erik Voorhees, an early Bitcoin supporter and founder of ShapeShift, has resumed buying gold-related tokens after a roughly one-month hiatus. Since January 31, he has created 28 new wallets, spending a total of approximately $23.76 million to purchase 2,834 XAUT tokens (approximately $13.78 million) and 2,019 PAXG tokens (approximately $9.97 million), with an average purchase price of approximately $4,896. His current unrealized profit is approximately $513,000.
Data: USDC issuance surpasses $80 billion for the first time, setting a new record.
According to Artemis data, the total issuance of USDC across the entire blockchain has exceeded $80 billion for the first time, currently standing at $81.083 billion, setting a new historical record.
Pump.fun: Launches Tokenized Agent Automatic Buyback Function
Pump.fun stated in an article on the X platform that on-chain agents are becoming dominant, and Pump.fun is building tools to accelerate the agent economy on its platform. The first step is to launch an automatic buyback feature for tokenized agents, a solution designed to bridge the gap between agent success and human chance; this feature is now live.
World Liberty Financial co-founder Zak Folkman said on Wednesday that the stablecoin issuer is preparing to aggressively advance in the field of AI-powered autonomous payments. This move will position its stablecoin USD1 for future scenarios where autonomous software agents conduct transactions at machine speed. Folkman stated that the team has been developing the technology behind the scenes, and the upcoming update will revolutionize people's understanding of AI-powered autonomous payments. Other developers on the project confirmed that World Liberty Financial is developing an AI agent capable of making autonomous payments.
The total size of the stablecoin market is now close to $315 billion, doubling since 2022, with USD1 being the fifth largest stablecoin. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously revised his forecast for global stablecoin adoption upwards to $3 trillion by 2030, and Citigroup analysts predict the market could expand to $4 trillion by the end of 2030.
Meanwhile, Circle is rolling out blockchain infrastructure and micropayment features for proxy transactions, Stripe is developing Tempo, a blockchain specifically for stablecoin payments, Shopify has integrated stablecoin payments, and Coinbase has incubated x402, an open standard for proxy payments. Meta acquired Moltbook, a social network built specifically for AI agents, on Tuesday, and OpenAI has also hired the creator of the autonomous agent framework OpenClaw.
Pharos receives strategic investment from GCL New Energy, valuing the company at nearly $1 billion.
Layer 1 blockchain project Pharos has secured strategic investment from GCL New Energy, valuing the project at nearly $1 billion. This investment was previously announced on January 8, 2026, and finalized after completing relevant information disclosure procedures with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).
The report indicates that this collaboration will focus on applications related to real-world assets (RWA), including renewable energy asset tokenization, decentralized energy trading systems, and carbon footprint tracking and verification. Pharos stated that its parallel execution architecture is designed to support high-throughput financial infrastructure to improve asset settlement efficiency, transparency, and liquidity.
GCL New Energy is an energy company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The two parties plan to explore the application of blockchain technology in energy infrastructure and financial markets through cooperation.
Trending Projects
Ondo Finance (ONDO)
In short:
Ondo Finance is a decentralized finance protocol focused on the tokenization of structured financial products and real-world assets. Its goal is to provide users with fixed-income products, such as tokenized US Treasury bonds or other financial instruments, through blockchain technology. Ondo Finance allows users to invest in low-risk, highly liquid assets while maintaining decentralized transparency and security. Its token, ONDO, is used for protocol governance and incentive mechanisms, and the platform also supports cross-chain operations to expand its application within the DeFi ecosystem.
Latest news:
On March 10, RWAxyz data showed that the total on-chain value of tokenized stocks had exceeded $1 billion. Ondo Finance and Backed Finance's xStocks platform accounted for the majority of the market share in tokenized stock issuance and trading. Ondo Finance held approximately 58% and xStocks approximately 24%, forming an early duopoly in the industry.
On March 9th, according to an official announcement , Binance Wallet launched the Ondo tokenized security trading competition on Binance Alpha. The event runs from 18:00 on March 9th, 2026 to 18:00 on March 23rd, 2026 (UTC+8). During the event, the top 20,000 users by trading Ondo tokenized securities on Binance Alpha will equally share a reward of IAUon equivalent to $500,000 USD.
Previously, Ondo Finance announced on the X platform that its tokenized equity DeFi application, powered by Chainlink as the official data oracle, is now live . Institutional-grade priced assets such as QQQon and TSLAon have been used as high-quality collateral to unlock on-chain equity. Leveraging TradFi liquidity and oracle data, Ondo's tokenized US equity now supports on-chain lending and structured products. The first project to launch is Euler Finance Vault, with risk management by Sentora and security provided by Chainlink. This marks the first time tokenized equity has been used as collateral in Ethereum DeFi.
MSX (STONKS)
In short:
MSX is a community-driven DeFi platform focused on tokenizing and trading RWA (Retail Assets and Services) such as US stocks on the blockchain. Through a partnership with Fidelity, the platform achieves 1:1 physical custody and token issuance. Users can mint stock tokens such as AAPL.M and MSFT.M using stablecoins like USDC, USDT, and USD1, and trade them 24/7 on the Base blockchain. All trading, minting, and redemption processes are executed by smart contracts, ensuring transparency, security, and auditability. MyStonks aims to bridge the gap between TradeFi and DeFi, providing users with a highly liquid, low-barrier-to-entry on-chain investment gateway to US stocks, building a "Nasdaq for the crypto world."
Previous updates:
On March 2nd, MSX officially announced the launch of its Pre-IPO section and the commencement of its first offering . The first batch of open targets includes equity allocations in four unlisted companies: SpaceX ($3 million), ByteDance ($2 million), Lambda Labs ($1 million), and Cerebras Systems ($500,000). Eligible users can participate in the subscription through the MSX platform, with a minimum subscription amount of $10 per transaction. This Pre-IPO section is built on a partnership structure between MSX and Republic, with related assets accessed through compliant channels and held by a regulated third-party custodian. MSX stated that it will expand the scope of Pre-IPO targets in stages in the future and explore technological pathways to improve asset liquidity.
Previously, MSX announced that its official website, msx.com , completed a comprehensive design upgrade on February 11, 2026. This redesign focused on three main areas: visual reconstruction, interaction optimization, and brand communication. The upgrade included adopting a dark financial color scheme, introducing a new skeuomorphic style and human elements, and reorganizing the layout of market data and functional modules. In terms of interaction, the website uses a grid system to increase white space, reduce interference from non-critical information, and centralize and streamline the entrances and buttons for high-frequency areas such as market data, positions, and order placement to shorten the operation path. At the same time, the website uniformly uses the brand's green color to highlight key operations and status feedback, improving the readability of key steps such as order placement and confirmation, and reducing the risk of accidental clicks and misjudgments.
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