Tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) promises to be one of the biggest trends in the cryptocurrency market in 2025.
According to a new report from investment firm Pantera Capital, this trend is driven by the growing interest of investors and companies in using cryptocurrencies that represent tangible assets such as real estate, stocks and bonds.
RWAs will connect the traditional financial world with decentralized finance (DeFi) in an unprecedented way, they claim from the investing company.
RWA capitalization increased by more than 60% in 2024up to 13.7 billion dollars (USD). About 70% of the tokens in this sector represent private credits and most of the rest treasury bills and commodities.
“Entries in these categories are accelerating, and more complex RWAs may be introduced in 2025,” says Pantera Capital.
To put it in perspective, look at the performance of Treasury bond RWAs. Its capitalization is already USD 2.7 billion, and only one of them, BUIDL T-bill, already has USD 500 million. The latter is the one issued by BlackRock, the company with the most assets under management in the world.
The growth of tokenized bonds has been driven by high interest rates in the United States. “Its ability to generate returns makes it a more attractive alternative to stablecoins,” says Pantera Capital.
RWAs also provide people globally with exposure to traditional financial assets.eliminating geographical, bureaucratic and banking barriers. In this sense, its momentum is to be expected as tokenizations emerge that are of value to investors.
“The transition from off-chain financing to on-chain financing is accelerating as large asset managers like BlackRock realize that issuing RWAs on-chain brings significant benefits.”
Pantera Capital, investment company.
Today, “the infrastructure for minting and maintaining RWA protocols has been dramatically simplified, and traders have a much better understanding of the risks,” notes Pantera Capital. This “means that it may finally be possible and feasible to introduce stocks, ETFs, bonds and other more complex financial products,” he adds.
“These trends will only accelerate the use of RWA by 2025,” highlights the investment company. He emphasizes that “the tokenization of assets has entered the walls of Wall Street.”
“As more traditional assets move on-chain, this will start a compounding flywheel effect, slowly merging and replacing legacy financial rails with DeFi protocols.”
Pantera Capital, investment company
Pantera Capital’s thinking coincides with that of different entities that predict that this market will continue to grow. “2025 will be the year tokenized securities take off,” VanEck said in correlation.
There are cryptocurrencies which, because they are related to the RWA sector, will benefit from this growing trend. Investing in them at an early stage will be key for those seeking to generate profits from this imminent future.
Now, predicting which will be the winning cryptocurrencies is not an easy task, so this investment strategy is high risk. However, an analysis of those in the RWA sector with the most capitalization allows us to identify those that have the potential for price increases.
1. Chainlink (LINK)
Chainlink (LINK) is one of the most recognized cryptocurrencies in the RWA space thanks to its oracle network. The latter refers to a service that provides real-world data to decentralized applications and smart contracts.
By providing real-time asset prices, Chainlink is a key piece for the adoption of RWA. Oracles are essential to ensure transparency and reliability in tokenization.
The use of Chainlink has already been implemented in multiple projects seeking to tokenize everything from real estate to complex financial products. This prominence positions LINK as a cryptocurrency with high possibilities of growing in parallel to the RWA trend.
Currently, LINK is the 15th most capitalized crypto asset, with USD 13.7 billion. Its price is currently at USD 21.55, which represents an increase of 40% in the last year, but still a decline of 58% from the all-time high it registered in 2021 of USD 52.88.
2.XDC Network (XDC)
Also on the radar of investors interested in RWA is XDC, the XDC Network cryptocurrency. This network, as indicated in its websiteworks “to revolutionize, decentralize and liquefy the trade finance industry through the tokenization of real-world financial instruments and assets.”
This approach could make it an attractive option for those looking to diversify their portfolio in this sector.
XDC, which is currently the 63rd largest crypto asset by market cap ($1.8 billion) and has seen strong appreciation recently. With a current price of USD 0.12, registers an increase of 145% in the last year.
Despite the rise, ongoing bitcoin (BTC) bullish trend that, as CriptoNoticias reported, motivates general enthusiasm.
3. Ondo (ONDO)
The Ondo network’s eponymous cryptocurrency is another prominent player in the RWA ecosystem. The project is specifically designed to handle tokenized assets, offering solutions such as structured funds and investment strategies in real-world assets.
Ondo’s value proposition lies in its specialized approach and its ability to offer users tools to invest in RWA without the high costs associated with the traditional financial system. This makes it a project with great growth potential.
ONDO, now trading at USD 1.24, has experienced a drastic increase in the last year of almost 670%. Its historical maximum price was USD 2.14, recorded just a month ago, from which it is 42% below. Therefore, it is to be expected that the market will seek to recover this figure, as long as optimism continues.
4. Iota (IOTA)
The IOTA cryptocurrency has found an opportunity to reinvent itself in RWAs.
Dominik Schiener, its co-founder, has recently highlighted this strategic change in its network that offers scalability for projects in the sector. This renewed strategy seems to be bearing fruit, with the strength that its market has gained.
The price of IOTA, which is currently $0.38, is up 60% in the last year. Even so, it registers a strong depreciation of 93% compared to its historical maximum, which was USD 5.69 in the 2017 bullish cycle.
This means that even in the bullish cycle after that, that of 2021, IOTA has not been able to recover its price record, nor in the current one underway. Therefore, if the initiatives behind this project support its growth, its price could have substantial gains in search of its all-time high.
5. Maker (MKR)
MakerDAO, known for being the protocol behind the DAI stablecoin, has also opted for RWA. In recent months, has expanded its strategy to include real-world assets as collateral in its system. This decision allows users to obtain DAI liquidity backed by this revolutionary sector.
MakerDAO’s trajectory positions it as a benchmark in the DeFi sector, so its adaptation to the RWA narrative could be one of the keys to maintaining its relevance in an increasingly competitive market.
Although MKR remains the number 83 crypto asset by capitalization, it has seen a price drop of almost 30% in the last year. It is currently trading at USD 1.41, this figure being 77% below its historical maximum of USD 6.33 in 2021.
Focus on innovations in RWA
An explosion of RWA in 2025 will transform the cryptocurrency market, especially benefiting the projects that have prepared to lead this change. Even if its fundamentals do not support it, optimism around its projections could mean a stir for its market.
LINK, XDC, ONDO, IOTA and MKT are just a few examples of cryptocurrencies that could excel in this new paradigm. For investors, These options represent a high-risk opportunity to capitalize on one of the most promising trends in the market.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to its author and do not necessarily reflect those of CriptoNoticias. The author’s opinion is for informational purposes and under no circumstances constitutes an investment recommendation or financial advice.
