Tokenized Assets Pour into DeFi, Bringing New Risks and Opportunities
RWA tokenization and DeFi are increasingly intersecting in practical ways. Tokenized US Treasuries serve as collateral, while tokenized funds feed yield strategies. Private credit tokens are being tested within on-chain finance.
The market is still relatively small compared to traditional capital markets but it's no longer a side experiment. Depending on the tracker, tokenized real-world assets excluding stablecoins now range from $20 billion to $35 billion on-chain.
This development marks significant progress for DeFi as it gains access to assets with different risk profiles beyond ETH, BTC, and volatile governance tokens. Additionally, institutions are testing public and permissioned blockchain rails for settlement, collateral movement, and programmable liquidity.