Latest Progress on RWA Track: A Review of 14 Major Categories and 50 Popular RWA Projects
Original author: Heimi, Bai Ze Research Institute
DeFi is changing the landscape by tokenizing physical assets such as real estate and art.
Tokenization of Real World Assets (RWA) is a process that converts tangible assets into tokens or NFTs, allowing them to be traded on-chain.
This opens up new opportunities for investors, as RWAs have the potential to provide sustainable returns unrelated to the crypto market, making them an attractive option for investors seeking diversification. On-chain capital is precisely looking for such sustainable and secure yield opportunities, thus RWA tokenization could become a catalyst for the next DeFi bull market.
RWA tokenization also helps to unlock liquidity, allowing funds to flow freely from traditional markets into the crypto space, enhancing the potential value of DeFi.
Today, various asset providers are stepping onto the stage of the RWA tokenization narrative, creating demand for tokenization in industries such as real estate, precious metals, luxury goods, climate, private/public fixed income, emerging markets, and trade finance.
For example, real estate tokenization—tokenizing partial ownership of real estate—allows investors to easily invest, where holders not only own a proportion of the property but can also earn rental income from the real estate. At the same time, homeowners can raise funds.
With the maturation of DeFi infrastructure projects, RWA tokenization has gained further development and innovation.
Pioneering projects like MakerDAO, Aave, and Chainlink are leading the exploration of the potential of RWAs within the DeFi space.
Although the regulation of RWAs remains uncertain, the long-term potential of this narrative is still significant, capable of reshaping the DeFi landscape and bringing value to both the crypto and traditional markets. Therefore, keep a close eye on the subsequent developments of this narrative.
According to crypto researcher Crypto Koryo's compilation, there are currently over 50 RWA projects on the market, with some projects' native tokens, such as $CREDI, $SMT, and $FACTR, having increased more than tenfold in the past three months. However, most projects have not yet launched tokens. So, what opportunities does this narrative currently hold? Let's explore further below.
1. Real Estate Tokenization
LABS Group ($LABS)
LABS Group is a real estate tokenization platform that allows homeowners to tokenize their properties to raise funds without intermediaries, while investors can access other more liquid real estate tokens through the secondary market.
Additionally, LABS Group has launched a Web3 vacation platform, Staynex, which enables resorts, hotels, and villas to be tokenized into NFTs—Staynex Passes. The Staynex Pass provides utility to holders, allowing them to travel flexibly around the world and stay at hotels while also earning income from room rentals.
ELYSIA ($ELFI)
ELYSIA is a protocol for tokenizing RWAs, making it easier to monetize RWAs on the blockchain. Users can create tokens from their RWAs and then sell them on ELYSIA's DeFi platform, ELYFI, or use them as collateral to borrow other crypto assets.
Tangible ($TNGBL)
Tangible is an RWA tokenization ecosystem. By launching a native yield-backed stablecoin, Real USD, it provides users with access to RWA tokenization.
On Tangible, anyone can use Real USD to purchase valuable physical goods from world-leading suppliers, including but not limited to art, fine wine, antiques, watches, and luxury items.
When users purchase RWAs listed on Tangible, TNFTs ("Tangible non-fungible tokens") are minted to represent the physical items. Tangible stores the physical items in a secure vault and sends the TNFTs to the buyer's wallet. TNFTs can be freely transferred and traded.
Propy ($PRO)
Propy provides a blockchain and smart contract-based real estate trading platform for buyers, sellers, and agents, facilitating instant transactions and reducing fraud. Currently, the platform has processed over $4 billion in transactions with real estate partners across the United States.
Parcl
Parcl is a synthetic asset trading platform focused on real estate, providing price trends that can be invested in the global real estate market. Users can browse the global real estate market and go long or short based on their predictions of real estate value fluctuations.
RealT
Founded in 2019, RealT has processed over $52 million in real estate tokenization in the past three years, allowing investors to easily purchase RWA tokens. Over 970 properties have been tokenized on the RealT platform, located in states such as Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Toledo, and Florida.
Theopetra
Theopetra and its partners T-Homes and REAT will build a real estate ecosystem around the $THEO token, aiming to make housing affordable for low-income individuals in the United States.
EktaChain
EktaChain is a blockchain-based decentralized real estate trading platform designed to make it faster and easier for everyone to engage in real estate business. The platform allows anyone to trade real estate with amounts as low as $100.
Mattereum
Mattereum is a platform that can tokenize RWAs into NFTs, including luxury goods, art, and real estate. Each NFT transaction is backed by a simple legal framework to handle any disputes that may arise, applicable under the laws of over 160 countries.
Robinland
Robinland's mission is to build a bridge between TradFi and DeFi for the real estate industry. By tokenizing high-quality, income-generating commercial real estate assets, it allows them to obtain liquidity from individual investors or institutional lenders like MakerDAO.
HOME Coin Finance
HOME Coin Finance offers investors the opportunity to earn stable returns through the stablecoin $HOME, backed by housing mortgages.
2. Multi-Asset Tokenization
Paxos ($PAXG)
Paxos is a blockchain financial infrastructure platform that provides asset tokenization, custody, trading, settlement, and other services to enterprise clients, enabling any asset to achieve trusted and instant transfer at any time.
Although U.S. regulators forced Paxos to stop minting the dollar stablecoin $BUSD in February this year, the platform continues to promote its gold-backed token $PAXG (PAX Gold). Paxos issued $PAXG back in 2019, and it has quietly grown to a market cap of about $500 million over the past three years. Unlike ETFs that represent gold, $PAXG represents that holders own physical gold and can redeem it for physical gold at a 1:1 ratio at any time.
Notably, Paxos is one of the most funded blockchain companies, with total funding exceeding $500 million, with major investors including OakHC/FT, Declaration Partners, Mithril Capital, and PayPal Ventures.
Tokeny Solutions
Tokeny provides enterprise-grade tokenization infrastructure, allowing businesses to issue, transfer, and manage assets on the blockchain in compliance, enabling them to enhance asset liquidity.
StrikeX ($STRX)
StrikeX is an RWA tokenization ecosystem, with products including:
• TradeStrike (centralized trading platform for RWA tokens, CEX)
• Stock Token Bridge (platform for creating RWA tokens)
• StrikeX Wallet
• TradeX (decentralized trading platform for RWA tokens, DEX)
• Xchain (private blockchain serving the StrikeX ecosystem)
• $STRX (native token of the StrikeX ecosystem)
INX ($INX)
INX provides a trading platform for RWA tokens and cryptocurrencies that complies with U.S. SEC regulations.
Curio ($CUR)
Curio is an RWA tokenization ecosystem, with products including:
• Rollapp (platform for creating RWA tokens)
• CurioInvest (tokenizing limited edition cars, allowing users to co-invest and share profits)
• $CSC (Swiss Franc stablecoin)
• CapitalDEX (decentralized trading platform for RWA tokens, DEX)
• Wrapped Fractional Physical-NFTs (tokenization of ownership and intellectual property)
3. TradFi
Polytrade ($TRADE)
Polytrade has built a decentralized trade finance platform aimed at providing seamless loans to businesses across multiple industries.
Defactor ($FACTR)
Defactor aims to connect traditional financing with DeFi to provide businesses with financing opportunities and liquidity.
Sologenic
Sologenic is an RWA tokenization ecosystem, with products including:
• Sologenic Asset Tokenization (centralized trading platform for RWA tokens, CEX, tokenizing over 40,000 stocks, ETFs, and commodities)
• Sologenic DEX (decentralized trading platform for RWA tokens, DEX, also trading the aforementioned tokenized assets)
• Sologenic NFT Marketplace
• Sologenic Wallet
ConsolFreight
ConsolFreight is a blockchain platform focused on the digital transformation of the shipping industry, providing trade finance and cargo insurance services.
4. Layer-1
Polymesh Network ($POLYX)
Polymesh is an institutional-grade permissioned blockchain built specifically for RWA tokens. Highlights include:
• Incorporating governance, identity, compliance, and confidentiality into the core of the blockchain.
• All participants—whether token issuers, investors, or node operators—must first pass decentralized KYC verification.
• Node operators must be financial entities.
• The native token $POLYX is classified as a utility token under Swiss law (according to guidance from the Swiss financial regulator FINMA).
MANTRAO ($OM)
MANTRA Chain is an L1 blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK, designed to be a network for collaboration between enterprises, attracting businesses and developers to build applications ranging from NFTs, gaming, metaverse to compliant DEXs.
The first dApp on MANTRA Chain is MANTRA Finance, which aims to become a globally regulated DeFi platform, bringing the speed and transparency of DeFi to the opaque TradFi world, allowing users to issue and trade RWA tokens.
Realio Network ($RIO)
Realio Network is an interoperable L1 blockchain focused on the issuance and management of RWA tokens.
Provenance ($HASH)
Provenance is an L1 blockchain created in 2018, built on the Cosmos SDK, designed to enable financial institutions and fintech companies to seamlessly and securely issue and trade financial asset tokens.
In its subsequent development, the chain has enabled over 60 financial institutions, fintech companies, DeFi, as well as banks and credit unions to issue, manage, and trade financial asset tokens at scale. As of 2023, Provenance has processed over $12 billion in financial asset transactions.
Intain
Intain is an L1 blockchain focused on financing and credit.
5. Climate/ReFi
KlimaDAO ($KLIMA)
KlimaDAO provides individuals and organizations with the opportunity to directly participate in the carbon credit market through its infrastructure and the $KLIMA token backed by real carbon assets.
KlimaDAO aims to address key issues in the carbon credit market:
• Insufficient liquidity: There are many different types of carbon credits; different intermediaries split the total liquidity of the carbon market.
• Lack of transparency
• Inefficiency
Regen Network ($REGEN)
Regen aims to use blockchain, DeFi, and other Web3 tools to become a catalyst for a global regenerative ecosystem. Users fund regenerative projects by purchasing and trading carbon credit tokens and ecological credits.
Toucan Protocol ($BCT)
Individuals and businesses can use Toucan's infrastructure to convert carbon credits into tokens, expanding protection for the planet.
Flow Carbon
Flow Carbon is a platform that tokenizes carbon credits, helping to improve transparency and liquidity, thereby expanding the carbon credit market.
6. Agriculture
Agro Global Token ($AGRO)
Agro Global Token is a cryptocurrency aimed at providing solutions for agricultural issues and making significant investments.
LandX Finance ($LNDX)
LandX is a decentralized protocol aimed at bridging the gap between farmers and investors.
The LandX protocol allows borrowers (farmers) and investors to reach agreements, where investors provide funding to farmers in exchange for a portion of future land revenues, while farmers solve the financing challenges for purchasing new land and equipment.
7. Identity
SpruceID
SpruceID is a company focused on decentralized identity and Web3 authentication, with its identity toolkit SSX enabling users to manage and control their digital identities without relying on third parties.
Quadrata
Quadrata is a decentralized identity system that allows businesses and consumers to generate a digital passport (SBT, non-transferable) through ID/passport, seamlessly accessing the entire Web3 dApp network while protecting privacy.
8. Private Equity
Credefi Finance ($CREDI)
Credefi connects cryptocurrency investors with small and medium-sized business borrowers, aiming to provide decentralized and secure loans to real-world businesses while offering lenders fixed returns unrelated to crypto market volatility.
KKR
Investment giant KKR, managing approximately $471 billion in assets, has tokenized its healthcare branch fund on the Avalanche blockchain to increase accessibility for individual investors. The typical threshold for large institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals to participate in KKR funds is usually millions of dollars, while individual investors can now invest in this "tokenized" branch fund with a minimum investment of $100,000.
9. Public Equity
Backed Finance
Backed Finance is an RWA token trading platform where stocks, ETFs, and other RWAs are tokenized into ERC-20 tokens that track market prices. Tokens can be freely transferred between different wallets and are 100% backed by RWA reserves.
10. Private Fixed Income
TrueFi ($TRU)
TrueFi is a decentralized credit protocol that enables institutions to obtain credit at fixed rates, allowing them to reinvest in their businesses in a capital-efficient manner. Investors can add liquidity to corresponding loan pools by choosing USDC/USDT/TUSD/BUSD, earning yields from lending. TrueFi currently focuses primarily on providing unsecured lending services in stablecoins to crypto-native trading investment institutions, with plans to gradually explore unsecured loans to companies and individuals in the future.
Maple Finance ($MPL)
Maple is a decentralized credit protocol that provides unsecured loans to institutions. Investors can act as liquidity providers by depositing funds ($USDC and $MPL) into loan pools, funding loans and earning yields.
Clearpool ($CPOOL)
Clearpool is a decentralized credit protocol that provides unsecured loans to institutions (lenders can only provide liquidity to the institutional pools they are invited to join).
FortunaFi
Fortunafi is a decentralized credit protocol that provides unsecured loans to businesses, which will pay a certain percentage of their monthly business income as repayment interest.
11. Public Fixed Income
Swarm Markets ($SMT)
Swarm Markets provides compliant DeFi infrastructure for RWA token issuance, liquidity, and trading, and is supervised by German regulators.
Ondo Finance ($ONDO)
DeFi protocol Ondo Finance has launched a tokenized fund based on U.S. Treasury bonds and corporate bonds.
12. Emerging Markets
Goldfinch ($GFI)
Goldfinch is a decentralized credit protocol aimed at real-world debt funds and fintech companies, with total loans exceeding $100 million. Investors can provide funds to loan pools to earn interest.
Brú Finance
Brú Finance is a decentralized credit protocol focused on agricultural products, allowing farmers to tokenize their agricultural goods and collateralize them on-chain to obtain loans, while the agricultural products are stored in physical warehouses. Due to the relatively low volatility of agricultural product prices, it also protects the interests of both borrowers and lenders.
Credix Finance
Credix Finance is a decentralized credit protocol focused on providing unsecured loans to emerging markets.
13. Security Tokens
Centrifuge
Centrifuge is an on-chain credit ecosystem designed to provide small and medium-sized business owners a way to collateralize their assets on-chain and obtain liquidity.
Centrifuge launched in 2017 and has financed a total of $317 million in assets on its marketplace.
Securitize
Securitize has pioneered a fully digital integrated platform for issuing, managing, and trading digital asset securities that comply with existing U.S. regulatory frameworks.
14. Others
PropChain ($PROPC)
Propchain is a blockchain-based real estate token investment market that provides users with access to invest in the global real estate market, along with tools of various types, sizes, and valuations. Propchain addresses many issues faced by real estate investors in traditional markets, continuously acquiring new properties and listing tokens after due diligence to ensure that there is always a variety of investment options available on the platform, while also ensuring the safety and sustainability of the properties.
Propchain allows investors to have a minimum investment threshold of just €1,000. All properties are managed by Propchain's property management team, allowing investors to simply collect rent from the properties.
Galileo Protocol
Galileo Protocol is a platform that tokenizes RWAs into NFTs, supporting multi-chain transfers. Currently, the platform primarily offers tokenization services for luxury goods.
LODE
LODE is a tokenization market focused on gold and silver, creating tokens representing silver ($AGX) and gold ($AUX) to facilitate quick investment, trading, and transfer for investors. Physical gold and silver are 100% stored in LODE's physical vaults.
Project 79
Project 79 is a tokenized trading market focused on gold, mining, precious metal warehouses, precious metal refineries, and land ownership.
Homebase
Homebase is a real estate tokenization platform. Through Homebase, users can invest in rental-generating residential real estate for as low as $100.
Lingo
Lingo is a hotel real estate tokenization platform where token holders not only earn returns but also have opportunities for free stays at hotels around the world based on the duration of their holdings.