Many people are paying attention to the RWA (Real World Asset on-chain) track, but the future direction is still somewhat unclear. In fact, based on current signals, RWA is transitioning from the experimental stage to large-scale commercial use, the entire logic is being validated, and the money is really flowing in.

**Institutional funds pouring in on a large scale has become inevitable**

2026 will be a watershed year. According to the current development pace, the RWA market size is expected to enter a rapid expansion phase by 2026, potentially reaching a scale of $16 trillion by 2030. This is not just speculation but based on the trend of institutional capital allocation—traditional financial giants like BlackRock and Fidelity are already making moves, and institutional fund share is expected to surge to 70% by 2026.

Once the institutional-led pattern is established, the role of crypto will adjust accordingly—shifting from asset issuance to providing infrastructure and backend services, which is a very realistic division of labor. The investment logic of VCs is also changing; they are no longer only looking at technological innovation but are placing more emphasis on "whether it can generate stable cash flow and has practical applications"—hard metrics like these. Long-term capital such as sovereign funds and pension funds are also starting to enter; what they want is stable returns.

**Imagination space for asset types is opening up**

The basic landscape is clear: traditional assets like US Treasuries, corporate bonds, and real estate will become the main carriers of RWA. The on-chain US Treasuries have already surpassed $7.3 billion, indicating that the infrastructure is capable of running.

But more interesting is the expansion of long-tail assets. Supply chain finance, SME loans, artworks, celebrity cards—assets that have been marginalized in traditional finance—now have the opportunity to achieve liquidity through on-chain tokenization. Even more cutting-edge is the rise of intangible assets—tokenization of carbon credits, intellectual property, data assets, AI computing power is accelerating.

Among these, green assets (such as photovoltaic and wind power projects) are especially popular because of stable cash flows, supportive policies, high market acceptance, and minimal resistance to on-chain integration.

**Regulatory compliance is finally taking shape**

In previous years, the problem with RWA was the lack of clear regulation. Now, the situation is improving—regulatory classification based on asset risk levels. Low-risk assets like government bonds follow simplified procedures, while non-standard assets like artworks require enhanced due diligence, each playing to their strengths.

Cross-border mutual recognition is also advancing. The cooperation models between Hong Kong and Singapore are demonstrating this, which will significantly reduce cross-jurisdiction issuance costs. Regarding compliance frameworks, "semi-licensed DAOs" are becoming standard practice—governance is community-based, but issuance and review processes are still led by licensed institutions.

Legal support is also becoming more complete—the legal validity of smart contracts is gradually being clarified, and standards for metadata encoding and registration custody are being implemented. These may sound like details, but they are crucial for large-scale RWA applications.

Overall, RWA is no longer just a concept on paper; it now has clear business models, capital flows, and regulatory frameworks. The next two to three years should see significant leaps forward.