Aurum Foundation has appointed Nick Patel as its RWA Relationships Advisor to lead its Real-World Asset strategy. According to DeFiLlama, the total value of RWAs on public blockchains reached $23.6 billion, a 66% increase from $14.1 billion at the start of 2026.
Nick Patel's Background and Role
Patel brings over a decade of experience spanning commodities, finance, and digital asset infrastructure. He has worked in stockbroking, equity sales, commodity trading, and cross-border investment. In recent years, he focused on gold trading and building businesses around supply, mining, and tokenized gold. He founded Bank of Bullion in Dubai, a precious metals supply chain company handling procurement, refining, storage, and trading. He also leads Clinq DMCC and Clinq.Gold, which digitize gold ownership through blockchain and fractional access.
In his new role, Patel will expand Aurum’s RWA strategy and strengthen relationships across global commodity markets. CEO Bryan Benson said the appointment is part of the foundation's broader effort to combine tangible value with decentralized systems' accessibility and yield potential. Aurum plans to widen its investment approach to include fractional exposure to metals, emeralds, and other liquid real-world assets beyond gold.
Gold Meets DeFi
Aurum’s long-term goal is to build DeFi earning opportunities around assets typically seen as stable stores of value. Gold fits naturally—it is familiar, globally recognized, and widely used as a hedge. The foundation leverages AI-driven financial infrastructure to connect tangible assets with crypto products, exploring tokenized commodities, funds, and other off-chain value.
Patel said he looks forward to bridging traditional assets with new financial opportunities and building sector relationships. His experience in tokenized gold positions him well as blockchain firms increasingly explore tokenized commodities and off-chain assets beyond typical crypto.
The appointment comes as the RWA space expands rapidly. Beyond gold, tokenized commodities, funds, and real estate are drawing more institutional interest. Aurum’s move signals that the convergence of traditional assets and DeFi is shifting from concept to large-scale implementation.