Animoca Brands believes tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) could eventually account for trillions of dollars in value from traditional finance in a multichain future.
In an August research report, analysts Andrew Ho and Ming Ruan highlighted the vast opportunity ahead, noting that the $400 trillion TradFi market represents a massive growth runway for RWA tokenization.
Currently, the sector remains small at around $26 billion, a fraction of the total market opportunity spanning asset classes such as private credit, treasury debt, commodities, equities, alternative funds, and global bonds.
The researchers also pointed out an ongoing “strategic race” among major asset managers to build end-to-end, integrated platforms. Over the long term, they argued, the greatest value will go to those who can control the entire asset lifecycle.
RWA market value reaches record high
The emerging RWA tokenization market has surged to a record $26.5 billion, up 70% since the start of the year, according to data from RWA.xyz.
This growth reflects “strong momentum and increasing institutional confidence,” the researchers noted.
Private credit and U.S. Treasurys currently dominate the RWA market, making up nearly 90% of total tokenized value.
The future of RWAs will be multichain, extending beyond Ethereum
Ethereum currently leads the RWA tokenization market with a 55% share, representing $156 billion in on-chain value, including stablecoins. When factoring in Ethereum layer-2 networks such as ZKsync Era, Polygon, and Arbitrum, its dominance rises to 76%, according to RWA.xyz.
Researchers attribute Ethereum’s lead to its strong security, deep liquidity, and the largest ecosystem of developers and DeFi applications. They also noted that the growth of RWA tokenization could further boost demand for related crypto assets like Ether— which hit a new all-time high on Sunday— and oracle provider Chainlink, both of which have recently outperformed the broader crypto market.
At the same time, RWA activity is expanding across a broader multichain landscape that includes both public and private blockchains. While Ethereum remains ahead, researchers highlighted rising competition from “high-performance, purpose-built networks,” stressing that interoperability will be critical for long-term success.
Earlier this month, Animoca Brands entered the space directly with the launch of its tokenized RWA marketplace, NUVA.
