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Tokenization
How does the tokenisation of a real asset work?
Tokenisation involves representing a traditional asset (such as a bond, debt, share in a fund, etc.) in the form of a digital token issued on a blockchain. In concrete terms, the asset is immobilised or held by a trusted third party, and then smart contracts are created to generate tokens equivalent to shares in the asset. These tokens can then be exchanged, used as collateral or integrated into decentralised finance protocols (DeFi), while being immutably registered on a distributed register. This approach promises a more fluid, programmable and accessible form of finance.
What is the level of adoption of tokenisation?
Despite its potential, the tokenisation of assets remains in its infancy compared with traditional finance. In May 2025, real tokenised assets amounted to barely $250 billion, compared with more than $486,000 billion in global financial assets. But this small share masks a fundamental dynamic. Tokenised private credit, for example, grew by more than 400% in one year, reaching almost $13 billion. The segment of tokenised US Treasuries, although modest (6.2 billion), is attracting growing interest, thanks in particular to products such as USDY (Ondo), STBT (Matrixdock) and BUIDL (BlackRock/Securitize).
What are the concrete use cases for tokenisation?
Tokenisation is already affecting several asset classes:
- Stablecoins dominate with over 90% of the total value of tokenised assets. Used as settlement tools, stores of value or instruments of adoption in emerging countries, they now exceed the annual volumes of Visa.
- Private credit is seeing a strong acceleration via platforms such as Centrifuge, Maple or Tradable, which provide SMEs with access to alternative financing.
- Commodities, particularly gold, are increasingly tokenised, with $1.4 billion in the form of assets such as XAUT or PAXG.
- Tokenised money market funds, still marginal ($7 billion), offer strong growth potential, particularly via products backed by Treasury bonds and distributed onchain.
- Equities, real estate and corporate bonds remain under-represented (less than $1 billion in total), due to persistent legal, technical or commercial obstacles.
What are the risks of tokenisation?
The tokenisation of real-world assets comes with risks:
- Legal: uncertain qualification of tokens depending on jurisdiction, rights of holders not fully harmonised.
- Technological: vulnerabilities of smart contracts, risks of piracy.
- Operational: integration challenges for traditional players, need for new robust infrastructures.
- Liquidity: markets still shallow and lacking counterparties, apart from stablecoins.
What regulatory framework for the tokenisation of RWAs?
A regulatory framework under construction, between European pioneers and American acceleration
The tokenisation of Real-World Assets (RWAs) cannot develop without a clear legal framework. It involves financial instruments (fund units, bonds, shares) and means of payment (stablecoins), and therefore multiple regulations. The main challenge is to reconcile technological innovation with legal certainty.
In Europe: a solid but incomplete foundation
The European Union has established two regulatory pillars to provide a framework for tokenisation:
- MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets), which came into force in 2024, provides a framework for the issuance of stablecoins and crypto-asset services. It requires issuers to obtain authorisation and comply with transparency, investor protection and anti-money laundering (AML/KYC) requirements.
- The Pilot Regime, in force since March 2023, allows certain market infrastructures to experiment with trading and settlement of financial instruments on public blockchain, within a framework that derogates from MiFID II and CSDR.
In the United States: a more proactive dynamic
In contrast, the United States is accelerating. Players such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and JPMorgan are already issuing tokenised funds, bonds and money market products on public blockchains, taking advantage of a more flexible regulatory environment (albeit one that is still under construction). Congress is actively discussing a framework for stablecoins (GENIUS Act, STABLE Act), while agencies such as the SEC and CFTC are adapting to the emergence of tokenised assets.
Stablecoins at the heart of regulation
Stablecoins, central elements of the settlement chain, are now considered electronic money tokens within the meaning of MiCA. This implies strict rules on the composition of reserves, transparency, governance and interoperability. However, the use of these tokens for the delivery-versus-payment of financial securities (under the Pilot Regime) is only permitted on an exceptional basis. In the absence of a wholesale digital euro, the chain remains legally incomplete.
What is the level of adoption of tokenisation?
Despite its potential, the tokenisation of assets remains in its infancy compared with traditional finance. In May 2025, real tokenised assets amounted to barely $250 billion, compared with more than $486,000 billion in global financial assets. But this small share masks a fundamental dynamic. Tokenised private credit, for example, grew by more than 400% in one year, reaching almost $13 billion. The segment of tokenised US Treasuries, although modest (6.2 billion), is attracting growing interest, thanks in particular to products such as USDY (Ondo), STBT (Matrixdock) and BUIDL (BlackRock/Securitize).
Who are the main issuers of stablecoins?
Stablecoins today account for more than 90% of the total value of tokenised assets. In May 2025, their capitalisation exceeded $230 billion.
- Tether (USDT) remains largely dominant, with more than $147 billion in circulation on some fifteen blockchains. Its liquidity, ubiquity and use in emerging zones make it a pillar of the crypto economy, despite its lack of transparent governance.
- USD Coin (USDC), issued by Circle, is acclaimed by institutions for its regulatory compliance and the quality of its reserves. It is present on Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche or Base, but lags behind Tether in terms of adoption.
- Dai (DAI), MakerDAO's decentralised stablecoin, continues to evolve with a hybrid approach mixing crypto collateral and real-world assets.
- PYUSD (PayPal) and EURC (Circle) illustrate attempts to integrate stablecoins into more traditional or European usage. Despite their credibility, their adoption is still marginal.
Who are the main issuers of tokenized RWA?
- BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) on Ethereum, reserved for accredited investors.
- Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund on Stellar and Polygon, managed by Franklin Templeton.
- Ondo Short-Term U.S. Treasuries on Ethereum, managed by Ondo Finance.
- Matrixdock STBT (Short-Term Treasury Bill Token) on Ethereum.
- Backed Finance bIB01, bCSPX, etc. on Ethereum, issued by Backed Finance (Switzerland), backed by traditional ETFs.
- SG-Forge bonds and tokenised fund shares on Ethereum, Polygon and Tezos, issued by Société Générale-FORGE (France), within a regulated framework.
- Spiko Trésorerie Tokenisée on Ethereum, a French project aimed at democratising access to tokenised monetary assets for businesses.
What protocols and platforms support the tokenisation of RWAs?
Specialised platforms facilitate the issuance, management and distribution of tokenised assets:
- Securitize, the undisputed leader in the US, manages over $4 billion and 550,000 registered accounts.
- Maple Finance, a pioneer in tokenised private credit, connects institutional borrowers and DeFi lenders via decentralised pools.
- Centrifuge, Goldfinch and TrueFi are also exploring tokenised credit, with differentiated approaches.
- Tradable ($1.8bn), little known but backed by major investors, issues credit assets on zkSync.
On which blockchains are RWAs mainly issued?
The kenised real assets (RWAs) are deployed on different blockchains, depending on issuers' priorities in terms of security, costs, regulatory compliance or operational efficiency. Here are the main blockchains currently in use:
- Ethereum
The de facto standard for tokenising RWAs, Ethereum benefits from a high level of security, great liquidity and extensive integration with DeFi protocols.
Used by: BlackRock (BUIDL Fund), Ondo Finance (OUSG), Matrixdock (STBT), Centrifuge, TrueFi, Maple Finance, Backed Finance, SG-Forge, Spiko. - zkSync (Layer 2 Ethereum)
Layer 2 solution based on proof-of-validity rollups (ZK-rollups), offering very low fees and EVM compatibility.
Currently in trial or initial deployment phase for several DeFi/RWA projects seeking scalability, speed and compliance.
Interesting for: future RWA applications requiring confidentiality, compliance and transactional efficiency. - Stellar
Blockchain designed for international payments and traditional finance, with very low fees and simple infrastructure.
Used by: Franklin Templeton (Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund).
Advantageous for: traditional financial institutions thanks to its speed and ease of integration. - Algorand
Performant blockchain with rapid finalisation and negligible costs, designed for institutional use cases and compliant with regulatory requirements.
Used by: various pilot projects for tokenisation of real estate assets, bonds or microfinance products.
Supported by: Securitize, Instimatch and other tokenised issuance platforms active in the European ecosystem.