Rich by Coin

Real World Asset Tokenization (RWA) refers to converting ownership or value of real-world assets—such as real estate, art, bonds, and commodities—into digital tokens on a blockchain. This process unlocks fractional ownership and broadens access to previously illiquid assets for a wider range of investors. Currently, more than 80% of trading volume in the tokenization market is US Treasuries and money market funds (MMFs). MMFs, due to their relatively low risk and high liquidity, have become testbeds for tokenization by major global financial institutions, enabling real-time trading and asset transfers without redemption.

Notably, BlackRock has operated a tokenized MMF called BUIDL since last March, while JPMorgan recently launched MONY to enter the real asset world. These deposit-type tokens can automatically pay interest in new tokens or reflect it in token value, potentially delivering sophisticated compounding without active management.

Europe and Japan are expanding tokenization efforts as well. The European Central Bank is considering putting traditional assets on the blockchain to unify issuance, settlements, and custody under a single standard, with the Pontes project planned for a late-2025 pilot. In Japan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plans to productize MMFs focused on short-term Treasuries, and discussions around tokenized MMFs are underway on platforms such as Progmat. The overall tokenization market is vast and growing; total market value including stablecoins was about $331 billion in November, up from roughly $40 billion in 2019, with potential growth to $1.5–2 trillion by 2030.

Automation is a key feature of tokenization. Smart contracts enable automated trading when preset conditions are met, and stablecoins are central to this infrastructure, enabling near-instant settlement between tokenized assets and currencies. Tokenization is expanding from stocks and real estate to commodities, with tokenized securities and ETFs traded on platforms like Kraken’s xStocks and Robinhood Stock Tokens, among others. The consolidation of tokenized markets and the use of stablecoins as funding rails are driving a broader shift toward liquidity and automated, 24/7 trading in tokenized assets.