Author: MooMs, Co-founder of Steak Studio

Compiled by: Tim, PANews

The development of DeFi has stagnated, while RWA is keeping the crypto industry vibrant.

In the past year, the RWA sector has grown an astonishing 695%, while DeFi has essentially stagnated, growing only 3.4%.

According to RWA.xyz, there are currently 10 ecosystems with tokenized assets exceeding $50 million, clearly indicating that institutional adoption is on the rise.

In this article, we will delve into these ecosystems, comparing their RWA verticals with broader DeFi activities and liquidity, analyzing which chains are experiencing strong momentum in the RWA sector, and which environments are most conducive to its flourishing.

We will rank the chains by total locked value (TVL) of RWA from high to low.

1. Ethereum

Ranked first by total tokenized assets, Ethereum L1 leads with a scale of $5.98 billion, capturing 56.8% of the total RWA market share.

Additionally, although we will not explore this in detail here, it is worth emphasizing that 54.8% of the total market capitalization of stablecoins is held by Ethereum L1, followed by Tron at 29.9%, and Solana at 5.5% market share.

TVL

• DeFi TVL — $46.6 billion
• Bridged TVL — $349.2 billion
• RWA TVL — $5.9 billion

Key Ratios

RWA TVL / DeFi TVL — 12.7%

This ratio analyzes how much of the DeFi activity on this chain is composed of RWA.

RWA TVL / Bridged TVL — 1.69%

This ratio helps us understand the actual proportion of liquidity flowing into RWA from the total liquidity bridged on-chain.

A low ratio indicates unmet demand and idle capital that could be directed towards the RWA sector. Conversely, a high ratio suggests that the chain effectively captures value and directs it into RWA, demonstrating higher value conversion efficiency in the RWA space.

You can also view this as the capital efficiency of RWA applications.

For Ethereum, it is clear that a significant amount of capital is waiting to be activated.

DeFi TVL / Bridged TVL — 13.3%

Using the same analytical framework, we can apply the above metrics to the DeFi sector and observe that a larger proportion of liquidity bridged to the DeFi ecosystem is actively utilized by protocol layers compared to RWA. This ultimately indicates that capital within the DeFi ecosystem has higher composability and better capital utilization efficiency, forming a more productive capital network.

While there is still significant room for growth, the growth trends of DeFi and RWA on Ethereum since the market low in 2022 are already evident.

From November 21, 2022, to April 21, 2025:

• DeFi TVL grew by 100.5%
• RWA TVL grew by 486.2%

Institutions in the Ecosystem

Currently, 8 out of 17 institutional funds are deployed on Ethereum, with 7 managed by Securitize and 1 by Superstate.

Additionally, the two largest gold-backed tokens, PAXG and XAUT, are also issued on Ethereum.

Despite the technical criticisms of Ethereum, it remains the most favored by institutions, and this trend does not seem to be slowing down in the short term.

Advantages of Asset Tokenization on Ethereum

• High liquidity: Makes your assets highly sought after.
• Composability: Leveraging a vibrant DeFi ecosystem increases opportunities for launching new products and features.
• Reliability and security: A proven L1 network with a record of zero security incidents and operational failures, backed by a capital reserve exceeding $50 billion.

2. zkSync

Ranked second in total RWA value, zkSync saw a tenfold increase in its related metrics in late February, primarily due to the launch of the private credit protocol Tradable. This protocol currently manages an active loan scale exceeding $2 billion.

TVL

• DeFi TVL: $56.3 million
• Bridged TVL: $472.8 million
• RWA TVL: $2.2 billion

Key Ratios

RWA TVL / DeFi TVL — 3928.6%

This significantly high ratio indicates that the development of the DeFi ecosystem is relatively insufficient compared to the scale of RWA on-chain, although most of these assets come from a single protocol.

RWA TVL / Bridged TVL — 465.3%

This ratio is also at a high level and can be interpreted in two ways: either indicating insufficient liquidity on-chain or suggesting that current RWA products have sufficiently met market demand, leaving little room for growth.

DeFi TVL / Bridged TVL — 11.9%

Observing this ratio, we can see it is very similar to Ethereum.

However, it is important to note that the total value of $2 billion from Tradable significantly inflates these metrics and may not accurately reflect the true state of zkSync.

Excluding Tradable's $2 billion, zkSync's total RWA value is approximately $191 million. Thus:

• RWA TVL / DeFi TVL — 241%
• RWA TVL / Bridged TVL — 40%

These adjusted ratios indicate that the RWA sector is more mature compared to DeFi, with a significant portion of "active" liquidity flowing into the real-world asset space.

Advantages of Asset Tokenization on zkSync

• Ability to launch your own elastic ZK chain.
• Interoperability between ZK chains.
• zkSync's technology stack is considered top-notch in the industry, while institutions' ability to autonomously launch zero-knowledge proof-driven chains is still severely underestimated.

We may see a future where two banks operate their own ZK chains while being able to share data and funds between each other, maintaining strict confidentiality over transaction amounts during this transfer process.

The privacy protection enabled by ZK technology is actively being explored by institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Sygnum, and UBS.

It would not be surprising if more institutions join this ecosystem soon.

3. Stellar

Ranked third in RWA TVL, Stellar has established deep partnerships with multiple enterprises, traditional financial institutions, and governments through its focus on low-cost cross-border payments and asset issuance.

TVL

• DeFi TVL — $48.6 million
• RWA TVL — $476.4 million

Key Ratios

RWA TVL / DeFi TVL — 980.3%

This enormous ratio says it all: the scale of tokenized assets on Stellar is nearly ten times that of its DeFi ecosystem.

The tokenized assets on the Stellar blockchain are primarily dominated by BENJI, an on-chain fund focused on U.S. Treasury bonds issued by Franklin Templeton. This fund accounts for 98% of the RWA TVL on the Stellar chain.

It is also worth noting that WisdomTree Funds launched the gold-backed token WTGOLD on the Stellar blockchain, but this token currently has a market value of only $1 million, indicating low market attention.

Advantages of Asset Tokenization on Stellar

This blockchain platform is known for supporting permissioned DeFi or "semi-private" markets, a feature highly valued by traditional financial institutions.

At the same time, it has a wealth of successful case studies in collaboration with well-known companies such as MoneyGram, Circle, and Velo.

Overall, Stellar focuses less on the composability of DeFi and more on building foreign exchange remittance channels and infrastructure familiar to institutions.

4. Aptos

In the past six months, Aptos has been one of the fastest-growing blockchains in terms of TVL. A significant portion of this growth comes from RWA, with its TVL soaring by 50%.

TVL

• DeFi TVL — $1.1 billion
• Bridged TVL — $654.3 million
• RWA TVL — $331.8 million

Key Ratios

• RWA TVL / DeFi TVL — 30.2%
• RWA TVL / Bridged TVL — 50.7%
• DeFi TVL / Bridged TVL — 168.1%

The fact that tokenized assets account for nearly 30% of DeFi activity on a blockchain with a TVL of $1 billion indicates that the RWA ecosystem is showing strong development momentum.

This becomes even more apparent when we observe the number of traditional financial participants building on Aptos. Here is the situation regarding its RWA TVL:

• Active loan scale of PACT — $219 million
• BUIDL fund issued by BlackRock — $53 million
• BENJI issued by Franklin Templeton — $22 million
• Three on-chain funds from Libre Capital — $20 million
• ACRED issued by Securitize — $10 million
• USDY issued by Ondo — $7 million

It is worth noting that Aptos is the second-largest underlying chain for the BUIDL fund (after Ethereum).

Advantages of Asset Tokenization on Aptos

1) Aptos uses the Move programming language instead of Solidity.

This makes it extremely secure for financial applications, as such applications cannot afford vulnerabilities like reentrancy attacks or overflow errors.

2) Although I try not to focus too much on technical details, Aptos set a record of processing 326 million transactions in a single day in August 2024, without any system failures, transaction delays, or spikes in gas fees.

I believe these two reasons are what make the blockchain attractive to traditional financial engineers.

5. Algorand

TVL

• DeFi TVL — $41.9 million
• RWA TVL — $328.7 million

Key Ratios

RWA TVL / DeFi TVL — 784.5%

I believe Algorand's positioning is quite similar to Stellar. This blockchain has not invested much effort in the DeFi space but has focused its strategic priorities on partnerships with enterprises and government institutions, such as collaborating with FIFA, the Bank of Italy, and the United Nations on various projects.

Currently, 100% of its total RWA value comes from tokenized shares on the Exodus platform.

Interestingly, Securitize has once again become the infrastructure partner responsible for the issuance and backend processing of this product.

Advantages of Asset Tokenization on the Algorand Platform

1) One of the main advantages of tokenization on Algorand lies in its close partnerships with various European governments and central banks.

2) At the same time, Algorand has adopted its native tokenization standard—Algorand Standard Assets (ASAs), which significantly simplifies the technical process for developers to issue tokenized products.

A good example is the European fintech company ZTLment, which migrated from Ethereum to Algorand. At the ETHDenver conference, they explained how Algorand's built-in features (such as atomic transactions and multi-signature approval mechanisms) helped them significantly reduce the need for customized development.

6. Solana

Surprisingly, Solana ranks sixth in on-chain RWA TVL.

TVL

• DeFi TVL—$7.4B
• Bridged TVL—$26.2B
• RWA TVL—$301.3M

Key Ratios

• RWA TVL/DeFi TVL—4.1%
• RWA TVL/Bridged TVL—1.2%
• DeFi TVL/Bridged TVL—28.2%

As expected, compared to most public chains discussed so far, Solana exhibits a more mature DeFi ecosystem, and this developmental advantage is directly reflected in its lower ratios for the first two metrics.

Considering Ethereum and Aptos, both of which have been mentioned and have a TVL exceeding $1 billion, Solana's RWA ecosystem appears underdeveloped relative to its network size.

Delving deeper, the distribution of RWA TVL is as follows:

• USDY issued by Ondo—$173 million
• OUSG issued by Ondo—$79 million
• ACRED issued by Apollo Global—$25 million
• BUIDL fund issued by BlackRock—$20 million
• Libre Capital fund size—approximately $4 million

Advantages of Asset Tokenization on Solana

1) As the most vibrant DeFi ecosystem after Ethereum, Solana offers high composability for institutions seeking to explore new application scenarios for tokenized assets.

2) Similar to Aptos, Solana also boasts high transaction speeds and low costs, making it very suitable for high-frequency trading.

Additionally, Solana's developer community and ecosystem initiatives (such as Superteam covering multiple regions) are rapidly developing, with resources and support for developers continuously increasing.

7. Polygon

TVL

• DeFi TVL—$784.5M
• Bridged TVL—$4.9B
• RWA TVL—$277.5M

Key Ratios

• RWA TVL/DeFi TVL—35.4%
• RWA TVL/Bridged TVL—5.7%
• DeFi TVL/Bridged TVL—16.0%

Polygon stands out in that its RWA ecosystem is relatively mature compared to its DeFi ecosystem, but there remains greater growth potential due to untapped liquidity.

In the case of Polygon, a significant component of RWA TVL comes from government bonds, and this time it is not limited to U.S. Treasury bonds.

• $110 million (40% of total value) comes from EUTBL, issued by Spiko.
• An additional $17 million comes from tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds issued by Spiko.

The other half of the RWA ecosystem on this chain consists of:

• $65 million evenly distributed between BENJI and the BUIDL fund
• $15 million from two funds by Hamilton Lane
• The remaining $67 million comes from the active loan business of Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin

Advantages of Asset Tokenization on Polygon

1) Polygon is the first stop for many institutions exploring real-world assets on public chains.

As one of the earliest networks built on Ethereum, it inherits Ethereum's high security while providing faster and more efficient infrastructure. This dual advantage makes it the preferred solution for many institutions exploring tokenized RWA on public chains.

2) Polygon's zero-knowledge proof digital identity system.

Polygon has launched Polygon ID, a digital identity infrastructure that allows users to verify their identity without disclosing personal data.

As I discussed in a previous article on tokenized securities, establishing digital identity infrastructure is crucial for traditional financial enterprises and institutions looking to achieve asset tokenization.

3) Polygon's CDK for customized zk Rollup development.

Polygon's CDK allows developers to build their own zk Rollup chains and customize configurations based on their needs. For traditional financial institutions, this can include enabling specific privacy features or enforcing KYC verification.

8. Arbitrum

TVL

• DeFi TVL—$2.2B
• Bridged TVL—$10.8B
• RWA TVL—$164.8M

Key Ratios

• RWA TVL/DeFi TVL—7.5%
• RWA TVL/Bridged TVL—1.5%
• DeFi TVL/Bridged TVL—20.4%

Some of Spiko's products have been launched on the Arbitrum chain, with its $25 million fund nearly evenly split between investments in European and U.S. Treasury bonds.

$137 million, approximately 83% of RWA TVL, comes from U.S. short-term Treasury bonds issued by the institutions mentioned earlier, while the remaining approximately $3 million in assets comes from tokenized stocks issued by the Dinari platform.

It is noteworthy that, although the total amount is not high, Arbitrum is one of the few blockchains that can demonstrate the practical application value of tokenized stocks within its ecosystem.

Advantages of Asset Tokenization on Arbitrum

1) A thriving DeFi ecosystem

Arbitrum's greatest advantage lies in its mature and extensive DeFi ecosystem. For asset tokenization projects, this opens up vast opportunities for various integration applications and innovative use cases by leveraging the existing large protocols and liquidity resources on the network.

2) Orbit Stack

Like other ecosystems, Arbitrum allows developers to launch their own L3 chains and configure them at the chain level based on their needs.

3) Support measures focused on the RWA sector

One of Arbitrum's significant advantages is its public commitment to supporting the development of RWA on-chain.

In June 2024, the foundation invested $27 million in six products as part of its DAO treasury diversification strategy. Two months prior, an additional $15.5 million investment was made, with these investments consistently aimed at expanding the scale of RWA within its ecosystem.

9. Avalanche

TVL

• DeFi TVL—$1.3B
• Bridged TVL—$5.8B
• RWA TVL—$162.9M

Key Ratios

• RWA TVL/DeFi TVL—12.5%
• RWA TVL/Bridged TVL—2.8%
• DeFi TVL/Bridged TVL—22.4%

In terms of ratios, Avalanche does not lean towards DeFi nor does it focus on RWA.

However, what makes Avalanche unique is the diversity of institutional participation within its ecosystem, which is broader than any other blockchain mentioned so far.

We again see institutions such as Securitize, BlackRock, and Franklin Templeton, along with unique RWA protocols such as:

• OpenTrade—$31 million invested in U.S. and global bonds
• Re—$12 million allocated to insurance products
• Republic—$21 million laid out for venture capital portfolios

Avalanche is also the third-largest blockchain platform for the BlackRock BUIDL fund, following Ethereum and Aptos, with a market share nearly on par with Aptos.

Advantages of Asset Tokenization on Avalanche

1) Subnets

Like other ecosystems, developers in Avalanche can create their own chains (specifically first-layer blockchains), allowing them to:

• Choose validators
• Set compliance requirements (KYC, permissioned access control)
• Customize virtual machine logic or adopt EVM-compatible solutions

For example, the Evergreen subnet of the Avalanche protocol is known for being tailored for institutions, achieving specific functionalities that were previously only possible in enterprise-level solutions while retaining the advantages of public network development.

2) The Avalanche protocol is frequently included in institutional R&D and pilot projects.

Several major financial institutions have chosen Avalanche as part of their tokenization proof of concept. For example:

• JPMorgan and Apollo Global conducted tokenization pilots using Avalanche's testnet infrastructure through Onyx Digital Assets and the Partior platform.
• Citigroup highlighted the Avalanche blockchain in its programmable finance research report.

Regular participation in high-profile R&D activities can enhance the chain's reputation and attract more high-level institutions to join.

3) Support measures and investment funds focused on real-world assets

Like Arbitrum, Avalanche is the only ecosystem on this list that has publicly announced a dedicated RWA program.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Avalanche launched the Avalanche Vista fund, with a size of $50 million, aimed at accelerating the adoption of RWA. This fund focuses on purchasing tokenized assets minted on the Avalanche chain, driving ecosystem development by injecting initial liquidity into on-chain RWA.

10. Base

Finally, based on RWA TVL, Base is the network that has seen the most rapid growth in TVL and on-chain activity over the past 18 months.

TVL

• DeFi TVL—$2.9B
• Bridged TVL—$12.1B
• RWA TVL—$51.9M

Key Ratios

• RWA TVL/DeFi TVL—1.8%
• RWA TVL/Bridged TVL—0.43%
• DeFi TVL/Bridged TVL—23.9%

The data shows that on-chain DeFi activity is highly active, while the growth of RWA is still in its early stages.

The RWA TVL on the Base chain mainly comes from the U.S. Treasury fund BENJI under Franklin Templeton, which has a scale of $46 million.

The remaining approximately $6 million is managed by Centrifuge, also held in the form of U.S. Treasury bonds.

Interestingly, Dinari's stocks are also available on the Base chain, but the trading activity is extremely low compared to the Arbitrum chain.

Advantages of Asset Tokenization on Base

1) Coinbase Ecosystem Advantage

Although Base operates independently, it benefits from deep integration with the Coinbase product matrix. Developers can fully leverage resources such as Coinbase Wallet services, native USDC support, and Prime Custody custody solutions, significantly improving user experience, obtaining institutional-grade custody services, and optimizing market entry strategies.

2) Good DeFi Composability

As mentioned above, although the RWA sector is still in its early development stage, issuers on Base can rely on a mature DeFi ecosystem to explore use cases for their assets, including potential integration with Coinbase itself.

For example, envision a scenario where Coinbase Wallet supports Bitcoin lending.

3) Member of the OP Ecosystem

Although this is a long-term vision, Base is a core member of the OP Superchain, aiming to develop into an interoperable second-layer network. As this vision gradually materializes, tokenized assets and users on Base will be able to interact with other OP chains, creating an attractive ecological prospect for institutions to build their own chains.

Conclusion

In summary, I believe that configurable environments such as Avalanche's subnets, Arbitrum Orbit, zkSync elastic chains, and Polygon CDK are very critical.

Institutions want to maintain control over their own environments while not sacrificing the advantages of public networks. The ability to "isolate" parts of the on-chain ecosystem while maintaining composability with DeFi protocols is indeed a highly attractive core selling point.

Another key element is digital identity infrastructure. Whether adopting Polygon's DID solution or other emerging standards, institutions need robust identity solutions to meet KYC, AML (anti-money laundering), and compliance requirements while protecting user privacy.

If I were to rank the key factors to consider when assessing an ecosystem and its suitability for asset tokenization, my ranking would be as follows:

1. Regulatory Compliance

2. Configurable Environment

3. Scalability and Cost

4. DeFi Composability

5. Proven Security

While all these factors are essential, for institutional participants, meeting regulatory requirements and providing a secure, customizable environment is a must-have bottom line.

It is also important to remember that while other factors are not the focus of this article, they play a crucial role. For example:

• Integration of oracle networks
• Partner custody institutions
• Native stablecoin support
• Available tokenization infrastructure
• Cross-chain interoperability

Finally, I would not underestimate the role of ETFs. Public chains like Avalanche and Solana, which have publicly submitted ETF applications, may benefit from the legitimacy and increased market attention brought by these applications, thereby attracting more institutional investors and partners.

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