RWA Track Development Accelerates: From New Public Chains to Asset Tokenization Competition, Market Size Exceeds 19.5 Billion Dollars

According to data statistics, as of March 25, the total value of on-chain real-world assets (RWA) has reached $19.53 billion, a growth of 19.58% over the past 30 days. Compared to $9.407 billion during the same period last year, the on-chain value of the RWA market has achieved a year-on-year growth of 108%. In terms of the total value of RWA on blockchain networks, Ethereum ranks first with a total value of $5.01 billion, followed by ZKsync Era ($672 million) and Algorand ($473 million).

Recently, the RWA sector has seen several key developments, covering areas such as public chain innovation, tokenization competition, mortgage-backed securities market, and real estate tokenization. This article will provide a brief overview and introduction to these dynamics.

Ethena and Securitize Launch New Public Chain Converge, Scheduled to Go Live in the Second Quarter

Converge is a network specifically designed for traditional finance and digital dollar settlements. Its vision is to provide the first settlement layer designed for the integration of TradFi and DeFi, centered around USDe and USDtb, with security provided by ENA.

This blockchain is considered to have two core application scenarios:

1. Settlement for permissionless spot and leveraged DeFi speculation;
2. The storage and settlement of stablecoins and tokenization assets.

Securitize will deploy its core future tokenization asset issuance layer on Converge. This will cover the securities forms of all asset classes. Ethena will launch its core products USDe, USDtb, and iUSDe, and will issue them natively.

Currently, five protocols have committed to building and distributing institutional-grade DeFi products on Converge, including Aave Labs' Horizon, Pendle Institutional, Morpho Labs, Maple Finance, Syrup, and EtherealDEX.

Sky $1 Billion Asset Tokenization Competition Results Announced

On March 18, the list of winners of a certain tokenization grand prize was announced. The event aims to bring up to $1 billion in tokenized assets into the Spark liquidity layer.

Three winners were selected from 39 applications, namely a certain asset management company and BUIDL from Securitize, USTB from Superstate, and JTRSY from Centrifuge. They will receive funding of $500 million, $300 million, and $200 million respectively. Among them, Centrifuge's JTRSY is issued in collaboration with the asset management companies Anemoy and Janus Henderson.

The plan aims to diversify Spark's investment portfolio and accelerate the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). Upon governance approval, these assets will be included as collateral for the native stablecoin USDS and the yield-generating stablecoin sUSDS.

DigiFT Launches Two On-Chain Tokenization Index Funds

On March 25, a certain cryptocurrency exchange announced the launch of an index fund that will fully tokenize fund shares and their underlying stock assets, enabling on-chain trading, which is open to qualified and institutional investors.

The first batch of products includes:

• AI Stock Index Fund (tracking multiple tech giants)
• Web3 Index Fund (covering crypto assets such as BTC, ETH, SOL)

These funds are managed by Hash Global, supporting USDT and USDC subscriptions and redemptions, with real-time on-chain transparency and a 24/7 settlement cycle.

On February 19, the exchange also announced that it would offer a tokenization version of a $6.3 billion private credit fund from a certain asset management company. This product allows institutional investors to purchase tokenized fund shares using USD, USDC, or USDT.

Figure Promotes On-chain Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) Market

Figure Technology Solutions currently occupies nearly 80% of the tokenization private credit market and is innovating the mortgage-backed securities capital markets through blockchain technology. Several major financial institutions are adopting Figure's DART electronic lien registration system to advance their applications in the Figure Connect loan market, which is set to launch in June 2024.

The loan market automates loans on the Provenance blockchain, allowing homeowners to obtain Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) approval within minutes and receive funds within days, while eliminating manual review processes.

Figure formed a joint venture with Sixth Street in February and secured a $200 million equity commitment to establish a Figure loan securitization mechanism and create a liquid market.

Republic and Hamilton Lane Launch Tokenized Private Infrastructure Fund

A certain platform announced a collaboration with Hamilton Lane to launch a tokenized private equity infrastructure fund aimed at retail investors, with a minimum investment threshold of only 500 dollars.

Hamilton Lane Private Infrastructure Fund (HLPIF) is the first "perpetual" tokenized infrastructure fund in the United States open to non-accredited investors. This registered investment company will acquire direct positions and secondary interests, covering infrastructure assets such as data centers (serving AI companies), energy pipelines, and transportation hubs. Although fund shares typically have lower liquidity, the company expects to provide options for quarterly sales.

Dubai Launches Real Estate Tokenization Pilot

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has launched the pilot phase of the "Real Estate Tokenization Project," becoming the first registration authority in the Middle East to implement blockchain-based real estate property tokenization.

The project is part of Dubai's "2033 Real Estate Industry Strategy" and the Real Estate Innovation Strategy (REES), jointly implemented by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) through SandBox Real Estate. The project is expected to exceed a market value of $16 billion by 2033, accounting for 7% of the total real estate transaction volume in Dubai.

A certain asset management company increases investment in the RWA track

According to a document submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 21, a certain asset management company has applied for registration of the "OnChain" stock class for its tokenized dollar money market fund, which was launched at the end of last year and holds cash and U.S. Treasury securities. According to the relevant document information, the fund's "OnChain" class currently operates on the Ethereum network and may expand to other blockchains in the future. This registration is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to take effect on May 30.

The BUIDL fund of a certain asset management company has exceeded $1 billion in assets under management.

On March 14th, a certain asset management company's BUIDL fund surpassed $1 billion in assets under management, becoming the first institutional-grade on-chain fund to reach this milestone. BUIDL is backed by short-term government bonds and provides daily returns to qualified investors, similar to an on-chain version of a stablecoin.

BUIDL has surpassed other similar funds, becoming the largest on-chain fund globally, accounting for about a quarter of the entire $4.2 billion on-chain treasury market. BUIDL operates on the Ethereum mainnet and expands to multiple public chains, supporting cross-chain Wormhole bridging. Custodians include several well-known institutions, with fund settlement handled by Bank of New York Mellon.

On March 25, the asset management company announced a partnership with Securitize to expand the blockchain-based money market fund BUIDL to Solana. In addition to continuously expanding the BUIDL business, this asset management company is also increasingly venturing into the cryptocurrency market.

Conclusion

Currently, a certain asset management company's BUIDL fund has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management, marking a significant event in the RWA sector recently. From public chain construction, tokenization funds, innovations in the real estate and credit markets, to national projects landing in places like Dubai, RWA is becoming one of the hottest areas in the crypto industry. With institutional funds continuously pouring in and the improvement of infrastructure, RWA is expected to further expand its influence in the crypto market and even the global financial system in the future. The subsequent direction and dynamics are worth looking forward to.