Tokenized Real-World Assets Go Mainstream in 2025

Tokenized real-world assets are set to reach mainstream adoption in 2025 as on-chain RWAs top $25 billion and tokenized U.S. Treasuries exceed $6.6 billion. Institutional giants including BlackRock (BUIDL) and Franklin Templeton (FOBXX) have launched on-chain funds, proving tokenized real-world assets work at scale. Regulatory clarity from Europe’s MiCA, Hong Kong’s guidance, Dubai’s VARA, and the U.S. GENIUS Act is bolstering treasurers’ and compliance teams’ confidence. The convergence of payments and RWAs—coined “PayFi”—will enable programmable finance where invoices, settlements, and tokenized T-bills flow together on stablecoin rails. Pilot projects like mBridge and Project Agorá are already compressing cross-border settlement times from days to seconds. Retail platforms such as Bitget Wallet and Ondo Finance are preparing to offer tokenized Treasuries alongside stablecoins. By embedding issuance, transfer, and servicing natively on-chain, tokenized real-world assets dramatically reduce friction in fund administration, collateral mobility, and cross-border payments. As portfolio managers and corporate treasuries adopt these modern financial rails, blockchain-based asset tokenization will feel like an overdue evolution in finance.
Bullish
This news is bullish for the crypto market because it highlights accelerating institutional adoption and regulatory clarity around tokenized real-world assets. Major asset managers like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton onboarding billions on-chain parallels the early wave of DeFi in 2020–2021, which drove record inflows and innovation. Regulatory frameworks such as MiCA, Hong Kong guidance, Dubai VARA, and the U.S. GENIUS Act remove uncertainty, encouraging more treasury teams and funds to migrate to blockchain rails. Short-term, platforms and protocols facilitating tokenization and stablecoin payments could see increased trading volumes and demand for liquidity. We may witness a rally in tokens associated with real-world asset infrastructure, such as fund tokens and stablecoin rails. Long-term, embedding issuance, settlement, and compliance directly on-chain promises lower friction, reduced counterparty risk, and faster settlement cycles—critical factors that can drive sustained capital flow into crypto. Just as the 2019–2020 stablecoin regulatory signals paved the way for massive USDC and USDT adoption, 2025’s institutional and regulatory developments set the stage for a deeper, more stable market tied to tangible assets.