Tokenized Assets Growth Masks Shallow DeFi Integration
The tokenized asset market has seen significant growth in 2026, expanding by nearly 50% to reach $37 billion between January and July. Despite this growth, most tokenized assets lack meaningful integration with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Only 12% of tokenized assets meet Pantera Capital's criteria for DeFi integration, according to the 'Tokenization Snapshot 2026' report by Centrifuge. This suggests that while scale is increasing, composability and functionality are lagging behind.
The majority of scored assets (77.6%) are 'wrappers', functioning mainly as digital representations of traditional instruments rather than composable DeFi tools. In contrast, only 2.7% earn the 'native' label, reserved for assets built from the ground up to operate inside DeFi protocols.
Despite this shortfall, demand for tokenized products that integrate well with DeFi is increasing rapidly. RWA deposits in lending markets and decentralized exchanges have tripled over the past year to reach $7.4 billion, driven largely by institutional-grade products such as Janus Henderson's JTRSY and JAAA treasury funds.