What happened? Tokenization of real-world assets is moving from experiments into live institutional pilots with predictions of trillions on-chain by 2030.
Panelists from Stellar, Centrifuge and Moody’s said RWAs are shifting from proofs-of-concept to production, with U.S. Treasuries and high-quality funds leading the way. Institutions like BlackRock, Fidelity and Goldman are already piloting digital twins of funds and deposits. The conversation flagged liquidity and interoperability as the next big hurdles to scale these projects into much larger markets.
Who does this affect? Banks, asset managers, DeFi platforms and everyday savers all stand to be impacted as tokenized assets get broader distribution.
Large financial institutions will need to adapt or risk falling behind as tokenized products become standard parts of portfolios. DeFi platforms and custodians will see new demand for on-chain infrastructure, custody and settlement services. Retail users could gain access to previously gated instruments in small amounts, bringing yield-bearing products directly into wallets.
Why does this matter? Because it could change market structure, boosting on-chain liquidity, cutting costs and speeding settlement, with big implications for market size and flows.
Wider adoption of RWAs on-chain would create new pools of liquidity and collateral that can power lending, payments and faster FX, shifting capital toward more efficient rails. That could lower fees, reduce counterparty risk and unlock yield for a broader set of investors, driving substantial capital inflows. But the pace and scale depend on interoperability, deep liquidity pools and clear regulatory and risk frameworks.