Tokenization Turns Cows and Farts Into Digital Assets

Tokenization of real-world assets, or RWAs, brings instruments such as government bonds, private credit and investment funds onto blockchains, promising faster settlement, broader access and compatibility with decentralized finance. Rapid issuance has become a marker of growing institutional interest, but scale alone does not guarantee liquidity. The sector’s next test is whether tokenized assets can serve as productive collateral or lending instruments rather than remain passively held on-chain.

As of August 2026, the value of tokenized RWAs had surpassed a record $32 billion, yet data showed nearly 90% remained dormant and unused in lending, collateral or other DeFi activity. Utilization varied sharply among leading platforms including Securitize, Ondo and Maple. The divergence underscores a structural shift in the market: after a race to issue assets, providers must now build the liquidity, integrations and incentives needed to put tens of billions of dollars to work.

Real-world asset tokenization places claims on bonds, funds and private credit on blockchain rails, promising faster settlement, broader distribution and programmable collateral. The sector matters because its investment case is increasingly separating from cryptocurrency price cycles: institutions are asking whether onchain products can outperform legacy processes, not merely whether traditional assets can be issued as tokens at institutional scale worldwide.

CoinDesk reported on July 23, 2026, that tokenized RWAs had topped $30 billion at TokenizeThis 2026, about six times their level at the start of 2025. RedStone cited an EY and Coinbase Institutional survey showing 64% of asset managers want to tokenize, up from 40% a year earlier. Broadridge said it processes roughly $370 billion in tokenized repo daily on Canton, while Apollo highlighted using tokenized private credit as collateral on Aave and Morpho.