$20 billion milestone: RWA market enters institutional era

The market capitalization of RWA (Real-World Assets) excluding stablecoins has surpassed $20 billion, reaching a new all-time high. Behind this figure is not only a breakthrough in market size but also a turning point reflecting the transition of traditional assets from niche experiments to mainstream adoption on the blockchain. Especially notable is the strong performance of the tokenized government bond market and the deep involvement of institutions such as BlackRock and BNY Mellon, which are validating a new trend: RWA is becoming the main channel for institutional funds entering the on-chain world.

The True Structure of the RWA Market

According to the latest data, out of the $20 billion RWA market cap, the tokenized U.S. Treasury bond market has exceeded $8.87 billion, accounting for nearly 45%. This proportion is not surprising but very illustrative. Compared to the volatility of native crypto assets, tokenized government bonds offer stable returns and government backing, which is exactly what institutional investors need most.

BlackRock’s BUILD fund has reached a market cap of $1.73 billion. As a flagship product of a traditional asset management giant on the blockchain, its growth rate itself is a signal: institutions are not only testing the waters of RWA but also increasing their investments.

Accelerating Institutional Participation

From related developments, this involvement has penetrated from product level into infrastructure. Recently, BNY Mellon launched a tokenized deposit service that allows institutional clients to convert cash directly into digital tokens on a private blockchain, with core participants including Ripple, Circle, Securitize, and others. What does this mean? It signifies that 24/7 settlement and real-time trading are no longer exclusive to crypto but are becoming standard requirements for traditional financial upgrades.

The significance of this change lies in breaking the divide between traditional finance and the on-chain world, enabling institutions not just to transfer funds into crypto but to directly digitize within familiar frameworks.

The True Market Potential

Industry forecasts predict that the RWA sector will exceed $1.2 trillion by 2026. Currently at only $20 billion, this indicates the market is still in its very early stages. But there is a key difference: past growth in crypto markets was mainly driven by retail sentiment and new capital inflows, whereas RWA growth is driven by the assets themselves. The scale of real assets like global government bonds, real estate, and art is in the hundreds of trillions, and the growth ceiling for RWA is not market hype but the speed of on-chain tokenization of traditional assets.

Summary

The $20 billion milestone does not represent a bubble expansion but a confirmation of genuine demand: institutions need more efficient settlement methods, and traditional assets require better liquidity. The fact that nearly half of this market cap is in tokenized government bonds indicates that this demand has been validated first in the most conservative asset class. From BlackRock to BNY Mellon, their participation points in the same direction: RWA is transforming from a niche market into a fundamental infrastructure of mainstream finance. Moving forward, it will be important to observe how much of this $20 billion is truly institutional funds and whether the speed of tokenization can keep up with the demand from traditional financial institutions.