Decentralized finance, or DeFi, has never been short on hype. From Bitcoin's meteoric rise to Ethereum's smart contracts changing the very nature of financial transactions, this space has been built on the promise of revolution. It's not surprising; in the world of DeFi, big risks often lead to even bigger rewards. And yet, amid all the flashy tokens and outlandish market predictions, there's a quiet revolution happening, one that promises to shape the future of finance without any of the noise.

That revolution? Tokenized Real-World Assets (RWAs). It's not flashy. It's not disruptive in the way meme coins are. But it has the potential to redefine the way we think about ownership, investment, and even trust itself. Here's the catch: it's moving at a glacial pace. What was supposed to be the "next big thing" in DeFi is still crawling along, and it's hardly the headline-grabbing story everyone expected. Still, if you look closely, it's a sleeping giant. And when it wakes up, it could blow everything else out of the water.What Are RWAs, and Why Should You Care?

Think of it this way: tokenizing real-world assets means taking stuff we already know, like houses, office buildings, government bonds, and even raw materials, then turning them into digital tokens. Once they're tokens, you can trade them on a blockchain kind of like you'd trade crypto. The point is, it makes these things easier to get into, easier to split into smaller pieces, and easier to sell if you need to.

Take real estate. Normally, buying property is a big deal, you've gotta have a lot of cash ready, whether it's for a condo or a warehouse. Tokenization changes that. You could just buy a small slice of a property instead of the whole thing, which opens the door for way more people to invest.

With tokenization, a $10 million skyscraper can be divided into thousands of tokens, each representing a small share of ownership. Rather than having to be a millionaire to invest in prime real estate, anyone with a few hundred bucks can own a piece of a luxury property.

And it's not just real estate. Governments and corporations are starting to tokenize bonds and other debt instruments that have traditionally been reserved for institutional investors. U.S. Treasuries, for example, are being tokenized and traded in DeFi, allowing anyone from retail investors to hedge funds to get a piece of the action without jumping through the hoops of traditional finance.Beyond the big ones, tokenization is spreading into other areas too:

It sounds perfect, right? You can now own a slice of a skyscraper or a government bond, all thanks to the magic of blockchain. It's democratizing ownership, offering a new level of liquidity and accessibility to the global economy. Yet, despite all the promise, the market for RWAs hasn't exactly exploded the way many predicted. Here's why.

The Slow Burn: Why RWAs Aren't Taking Over the World… YetAs of mid-2025, the RWA market has expanded to over $24 billion, marking a 380% increase from $8.6 billion at the start of the year. This growth is driven by institutional adoption and regulatory advancements.

The market is predominantly composed of tokenized private credit and U.S. Treasury debt, which together account for 92% of the total value. Notably, BlackRock’s BUIDL fund has grown from $649 million to $2.9 billion, and Tradable has surpassed $2 billion in tokenized assets. Despite this progress, the RWA sector remains underwhelming compared to the trillion-dollar projections once anticipated by DeFi proponents. 

But it's not just about the excitement (or lack thereof). There are deeper reasons why RWAs are struggling to take off, and it boils down to one big thing: trust.

In theory, tokenizing real estate or a bond should be easy. You buy a token, and boom –  you own a piece of the asset. But, of course, in the real world, it's never that simple. How do you know the token actually represents real ownership of that property? Can you sell it on a secondary market as easily as you could sell a Bitcoin or an Ethereum token? And more importantly, who guarantees that your ownership is legitimate?

Unlike cryptos, which are built on decentralized ledgers, RWAs bring in traditional ownership laws: contracts, titles, and legal frameworks that are not yet ready to fully integrate with the blockchain. Until someone figures out how to make this process simple and legally sound, many investors are going to sit this one out. And institutional investors, the ones with the deep pockets and capital to scale this market, won't immerse themselves until the legal issues are cleared up.1. NFT Hangover: Still Recovering From the HypeThe whole NFT bubble left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. When the NFT craze was at its peak, everyone was convinced that digital ownership of art, collectibles, and other assets was the future. But when the bubble burst, the market tanked, and the trust in blockchain-based ownership took a hit.

Now, whenever anyone mentions tokenized real estate or tokenized bonds, there's a reflexive hesitation. Investors are still wary of anything that smells even a little bit like an overhyped trend. And while tokenizing physical assets is fundamentally different from creating NFTs, the emotional baggage is hard to shake off.2. Liquidity Issues: Too Big to Move?Another big hurdle is the liquidity mismatch. Tokenized RWAs just don't trade like cryptocurrencies. Real estate, for instance, is notoriously illiquid in the traditional market, and tokenizing it doesn't automatically solve that problem. It's one thing to tokenize a property; it's another to make it easy to buy and sell that token on secondary markets.Think about it: if you want to sell a fraction of a luxury apartment, you need a platform that can facilitate that transaction quickly and easily. The truth is, the infrastructure for trading tokenized RWAs isn't quite there yet. Until platforms can offer the same level of liquidity as cryptocurrencies, this sector will remain niche at best.

Where's the Money?Despite these challenges, there are a few areas where RWAs are really starting to show their worth. U.S. Treasuries and bonds are already getting a lot of traction. The market for tokenized Treasuries has exploded; now it's around $7.5 billion in size, compared to less than $100 million just a couple of years ago. A big part of that jump comes from more institutions getting involved and from blockchain tech improving. Things like faster trade settlements, lower operating costs, and more transparency make it an attractive option.

And it's not just government debt. Commercial real estate is also starting to feel the impact of tokenization in a big way. Platforms like Lumia are creating fractional ownership opportunities in multi-million dollar buildings, allowing investors of all sizes to get in on lucrative property markets. With rental yields and the potential for capital appreciation, tokenized real estate offers something that traditional crypto projects can't – a tangible, income-producing asset.Dubai is at the forefront of real estate tokenization. In May 2025, the Dubai Land Department launched the "Prypco Mint" platform, enabling fractional ownership of properties starting from AED 2,000 (around $540). The first project on this platform sold out in under two minutes, attracting 149 investors from 35 nationalities. By 2033, tokenized real estate is projected to represent up to 7% of Dubai's market, equating to $16 billion.

And then there are commodities like gold, silver, and oil. These are some of the oldest, most reliable assets on the planet. Tokenizing these commodities makes it easier to trade them on blockchain networks, without the hassles of physical storage and verification. Once custody issues are sorted, the tokenization of commodities could change the game entirely.

ChangeNOW: A Market on Pause, Not in Hibernation

From our own experience, RWA growth looks more like the slow turning of gears than an explosive launch. We only started listing RWA tokens in early 2024, back then, it was just one token (AXL). Today, we're up to 10, but while interest has remained steady since the start of 2025, it's nowhere near the frenzy that meme tokens attract.

In terms of trading volume, the current top three are Plume, Iota, and Parcl. This year, Plume and Parcl had strong breakout moments, but the momentum didn't last. Iota was a crowd favorite at the start of the year, yet its volumes have since dropped sixfold, the sharpest decline among RWAs in 2025. That said, the market is now more evenly spread: there's no clear favorite, and attention is shared across the board.Why Aren't We at $100 Billion Yet?

For RWAs to become a $100 billion market or beyond, there are three major things that need to happen.

Boring Might Be the New BullishLooking ahead to 2026, don't expect RWAs to suddenly become the next big crypto sensation. They won't skyrocket overnight. But here's the thing: boring might just be exactly what DeFi needs. Instead of chasing the rollercoaster highs and lows of speculative assets, RWAs bring something far more reliable and, potentially, more profitable over time. It's not going to grab headlines with crazy price spikes, and that's exactly the point. The real strength here is in stability, trust, and tangible value.

In the long run, slow and steady might actually win the race. The RWA space is growing quietly but consistently, and when it finally hits the mainstream, we might look back and realize this was the moment DeFi really grew up.

Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.