Centrifuge has officially crossed $1 billion in total value locked (TVL), becoming one of only a few real-world asset (RWA) platforms — alongside BlackRock’s BUIDL fund and Ondo Finance — to hit the milestone.
The surge reflects a wave of institutional adoption as tokenization moves from pilot projects into large-scale deployments.
CEO Bhaji Illuminati credited the growth to both institutional momentum and strong onchain allocator demand. While tokenized U.S. Treasurys remain the dominant entry point for investors, Centrifuge’s fastest-growing product is JAAA, an onchain version of Janus Henderson’s AAA-rated CLO fund. Illuminati also noted rising appetite for private credit as institutions seek yields beyond risk-free rates.
In July, Centrifuge announced a partnership with S&P Dow Jones Indices to launch a tokenized S&P 500 product, structured as a regulated fund in the British Virgin Islands. Illuminati described demand as “very strong” ahead of its rollout, with sector-specific and thematic index funds already being planned for future launches.
Centrifuge’s growth strategy is split between traditional asset managers, working through its Anemoy platform, and crypto-native firms using its RWA Launchpad. Stablecoins and yield-focused products remain the largest buyers, using RWAs to establish a reliable “yield floor” for reserves.
The firm is also preparing to bring RWAs directly to retail investors through deRWA, an initiative aimed at integrating tokenized assets into exchanges, wallets, and DeFi protocols. S&P DJI is reportedly in talks with custodians, exchanges, and DeFi platforms to license tokenized indexes, creating a framework for broader retail access.
Looking ahead, Illuminati expects tokenized Treasurys and equities to dominate in the near term due to liquidity advantages, but sees private markets eventually overtaking public ones as blockchain strips away inefficiencies and unlocks hidden value.
A recent report from Boston Consulting Group and Ripple projected that the RWA market could top $18 trillion by 2033, growing at a staggering 53% annually — underscoring the scale of the opportunity Centrifuge and its peers are chasing.
