We are in the golden age of blockchain technology, and it’s bringing in countless innovations that disrupt, change, and replace age-old status quos worldwide. Asset tokenization is a game-changer use case of blockchain technology, expected to deliver $16.1 trillion in values of tokenized assets by 2030. 

In this blog, we discuss the evolvement of the real world asset (RWA) tokenization industry since 2018 and the 4 charts that illustrate the trends and progress of the RWA industry in 2024. 

The Evolvement Of The RWA Industry

InvestaX is the first builder in the Real World Asset Tokens (RWA) industry in Asia since 2018. Back then, there was little infrastructure or investable products. Today, in 2024, the industry is booming with major players like Blackrock’s RWA fund and Franklin Templeton’s Onchain money market fund have entered the race. Furthermore, the leading Decentralized Finance (DeFi) players including Coinbase (one of our investors) also making big moves into the RWA industry with Project Diamond and Coinbase Wallet and BASE protocol integrations with leading RWA platforms like InvestaX. 

In contrast between 2024 and 2018 lies in the early days, known as the security token industry STO, where there was a notable absence of infrastructure, technology, and licensed players for legal and compliant issuance and trading of RWA tokens.

Over the span of six years, industry-wide development has transformed this landscape. Previously, many in the STO industry were constructing their proprietary private blockchains, isolated from the broader digital asset ecosystem, akin to operating within a closed-door system, much like a private database.

The ongoing debate between public and private blockchains as the foundational technology for RWA token issuance has shifted towards the dominance of public protocols. Furthermore, a new hybrid layer known as "permissioned public" blockchains has emerged.

For those seeking deeper insights into these differences and value propositions, our piece "Startups versus Incumbents in the RWA era" delves into the intricacies of public versus private blockchains, linking them to the businesses operating atop.

The Popularization Of Public Protocols for RWA Tokenization

Across the industry, there's a notable uptick in projects issuing their RWA tokens on public protocols. To engage with these tokens, investors must utilize digital currencies like stablecoins or other cryptocurrencies, rather than fiat. This shift signifies that we have arrived at the stage where we see  “the real use case” of blockchain technology coming together, leading to the proliferation of new products and services within the RWA industry.

In 2018, despite widespread skepticism, we embarked on building on public chains. Our decision has been vindicated as we witness the convergence of various digital assets, fostering the creation of novel forms of value and exchange. Currently, InvestaX is seamlessly integrated with multiple public chains, including BASE, Ethereum, Polygon, and Klaytn, among others.

Significantly, heavyweight CEOs of major Wall Street banks now advocate for real-world assets to be issued on public chains. For instance, Blackrock's fund, which has attracted $260 million USD, is issued on Ethereum. Meanhiwle, the CEO of Franklin Templeton even describes tokenization as "securitization on steroids."

Another key advantage of issuing RWA on public chains lies in the transparency of data, as all information is stored on-chain, ensuring visibility for all stakeholders. At InvestaX, we believe public blockchains unlock the true potential of RWA tokenization. We are already integrated with Coinbase's BASE protocol, Ethereum, Polygon, Tezos, Algorand, Hedera, and coming soon Klaytn.

4 Charts Show The Progress Of The RWA Tokenization Industry

Below, we list 4 key charts showing the explosive growth in the RWA industry across different asset classes.

Let’s dive in!

#1: Fiat-backed stablecoins remain the most popular RWA class. 

Fiat-backed stablecoins, primarily USD-pegged tokens, currently dominate the market value of the RWA market. 

The top three USD stablecoins alone make up 95% of the market, with Tether (USDT) at $96.1 billion, USDC (USDC) at $26.8 billion, and Dai (DAI) at $4.9 billion.

#2: The market cap of commodity-backed tokens climbed to over 1 billion USD in 2024. Gold remains the most popular commodity.

Tokenized precious metals such as Tether Gold (XAUT) and PAX Gold (PAXG) make up 83% of the market cap of commodity-backed tokens.

Other commodity-backed tokens, like Uranium308's tokenized uranium, are now available.

#3: Tokenized treasuries became the ideal destination during the DeFi yield decline

As DeFi yields cratered in 2023, tokenized treasuries saw explosive growth as users flocked for exposure to rising US T-bill rates, surged by 782% from $104M in January, 2023 to $917M by year’s end.

#4: In early 2024, the majority of on-chain active loans are facilitated by real-world asset firms. 

The total value of active loans in the market, after the collapse of multiple firms like Terra, 3AC, and FTX, plunged by 82.7% from a peak of $1.58B in May 2022 to $0.27B at the start of 2023.

Active loans then have steadily increased again by 60% to $439M by the end of 2023, with the rise in private lending to real-world asset firms, led by Centrifuge and Goldfinch. 

*The information above is sourced from CoinGecKo’s 2024 RWA report. You can view the full report here.

Looking Ahead: The Future is Tokenized

The financial landscape is undergoing a significant transformation. Traditional private markets, while secure, are often inaccessible due to high minimum investments and limited liquidity. This is where digital asset securities, powered by Web3 technology, offer a compelling solution.

The rise of digital asset securities, also known as real world asset tokenization (RWA), is revolutionizing private markets. Revenue in the digital assets market is projected to reach US$112,100m by 2028, as per Statista.

Numbers speak the future!

• $112.1 trillion: Revenue in the digital assets market by 2028, as per Statista.
• $16.1 trillion: The estimated market value of tokenizable assets by 2030, as per Boston Consulting Group (BCG). 
• $20 billion: Annual savings in global clearing and settlement costs achievable with widespread tokenization, according to BCG.

Interested in learning more about the real-world asset tokenization space? Check out our latest demo videos and thought pieces.

• Tokenization demo with InvestaX in 90 seconds
• Unlocking the Future of RWA Tokenization with InvestaX and Coinbase 
• Tokenization Beyond Fundraising
• Real World Asset Tokenization - Is A License Needed?
• Public or Private Blockchains For Asset Tokenization?
• Why InvestaX’s B2B Tokenization SaaS is a Superior Model

Ready to tokenize your assets? Sign up on the InvestaX tokenization platform to unlock all features and access exclusive investment opportunities.