The value of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) on public blockchains increased by about 66% in 2026, reaching about $23.6 billion as of Wednesday, according to DeFiLlama data.
Market steel at around $14.1 billion on January 1, then continued to rise until early March. The largest part of the sector are tokenized funds, including products secured by US treasury bills, bonds and money market funds.
DeFiLlama data shows that tokenized funds make up about 44.5% of the total $10.5 billion market, followed by tokenized gold and commodities worth about $6.5 billion and tokenized equities worth almost $4 billion. Other segments, including private credit and income products, constitute smaller parts of the RWA onchain ecosystem.
Industry participants told Cointelegraph that the next stage of growth will be driven less by tokenization as a concept and more by distribution, market access and the attractiveness of assets that can be traded and settled around the clock.
Demand for constantly dynamic markets is driving tokenized interest in assets
“The real breakthrough is that access to several products, their distribution and use are much easier” – an RWA.xyz a spokesperson told Cointelegraph.
Related: Tokenized US Treasuries have increased by over $1 billion since the beginning of 2026
On Tuesday, the total value of shares on the chain exceeded $1 billion, according to RWA.xyz data. Platforms like Ondo and xStocks account for most of this activity.
The capitalization of the tokenized U.S. Treasury bond market also exceeded $10 billion in February, rising to $11.13 billion in March.
Investors are “tired” of closing markets
Ross Shemeliak, co-founder and chief operating officer of Stobox, said many investors are frustrated with legacy systems that operate with restricted trading hours and rely on multiple intermediaries to move capital.
“Investors are tired of financial markets that close at 4 p.m. and require multiple intermediaries just to move capital,” Shemeliak told Cointelegraph.
Growing institutional experimentation with tokenization has also helped legitimize the model, he said. Over the past year, major financial firms have introduced blockchain-based versions of U.S. treasuries, mutual funds and other real-world assets.
Warehouse: China’s ’50x’ Blockchain Boost, Alibaba-Linked AI Mines Bitcoin: Asia Express
