Real-world asset tokenization is moving out of the experimental stage and into live financial activity. The source says tokenized RWAs grew 66% in 2025 to roughly $23 billion. Early adoption centered on assets that were easier for investors to trust, especially gold, through products such as Pax Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT). That expansion has since spread into Treasury-linked products, funds, government securities, and now more complex markets tied to oil, gas, and power.
From tokenized gold to oil and power markets
Gold was one of the first assets to make sense on-chain because it already had broad recognition as a store of value. The article points to Ondo Finance products such as USDY and OUSG, along with the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), as examples of familiar, relatively stable instruments that helped validate the model. Once these products were available on-chain, users gained faster settlement, cross-border transfer capability, and integration with programmable systems.
The push is now reaching commodities and productive sectors, especially energy. That shift matters because oil and natural gas are tied much more directly to real economic activity than gold. It also raises the level of difficulty. Pricing, settlement mechanics, and regulatory treatment become more complicated as tokenization moves into these markets, even if the addressable opportunity is much larger.
Capital markets are starting to come on-chain
The source describes tokenized equities as one of the clearest signs that the trend is moving deeper into mainstream finance. Platforms such as Ondo Finance are seeing demand for tokenized shares linked to names like TSLAx, AAPLx, and NVDAx. As of March 2026, the total value of the tokenized stock market had crossed $1 billion, according to the article.
Mortgage activity is also appearing on blockchain rails. Figure Technologies is cited as an active player, while borrowers can use crypto as collateral for mortgage down payments through an exchange such as Coinbase. In banking, tokenized deposits are being explored for 24/7 foreign exchange settlement and cross-border payments outside normal banking hours. JPMorgan Chase is also mentioned as building tokenized financial systems for transaction settlement and blockchain-based deposits. The article adds that the IMF, in an April 2026 note, said tokenization is “increasingly shaping financial system developments” across regulated institutions including banks, asset managers, and financial markets.
Adoption is real, but the market structure is still incomplete
Even with live deployments, the source does not present tokenization as a finished transition. Marko Vidrih, co-founder and COO at RWA.io, says the market has moved beyond experimentation but is still in transition. Maghnus Mareneck, co-founder and co-CEO of Cosmos Labs, argues that platforms such as Ondo and Figure are already operating in production and serving genuine institutional demand.
Still, both point to the same missing pieces. Regulation remains uneven across jurisdictions, and interoperability across blockchains is not yet resolved. Mareneck says the US, Japan, and South Korea are moving with conviction, while other regions are still exploring. Liquidity is another weak point. The article says tokenization by itself does not create liquidity, and secondary markets remain thin because assets and users are split across chains and often locked inside closed ecosystems with separate onboarding, custody, and counterparty requirements.
Value does not automatically flow to every blockchain
Ethereum, Stellar, Avalanche, XRP, and Polygon are all named as blockchains supporting RWA tokenization. Even so, the article argues that more assets on-chain do not automatically translate into equal gains for the chains hosting them. Value can accumulate at different layers: infrastructure, applications, and distribution. The biggest share may go to whichever part of the system controls access, settlement, and liquidity.
That makes the question less about which blockchain wins in a simple sense, and more about who controls the rails and the user relationship. The source frames tokenization as a long-term structural driver rather than a short-term token price catalyst. Real assets are already moving on-chain, and institutions are already building. Regulation, interoperability, and market depth remain the main constraints on how far this shift can go.