RWA Trading Reshapes DeFi Platform Economics

DeFi platform economics are undergoing significant changes due to the growth of real-world asset (RWA) trading, according to ARK Invest's Director of Research for Digital Assets Lorenzo Valente. He believes specialized RWA markets will redistribute power across DeFi platforms, giving customer-facing applications greater control over liquidity and revenue.

This evolution could reshape fee allocation without triggering a broad migration towards app-specific chains. Valente pointed out that new platforms can now build large on-chain outcomes with little to no Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) market share by specializing in RWAs, as seen with Trade.xyz.

Trade.xyz's continued growth could change its commercial relationship with Hyperliquid if it becomes the exchange's primary source of activity. Valente anticipates negotiations over fee allocation once Trade.xyz gains sufficient influence, potentially leading to a larger share of user fees for the application.