Tokenized assets have crossed a pivotal landmark, and are well on their way to
becoming a mainstay in traditional finance.
Tokenized Assets Swell to Almost $25bn Despite DeFi Scepticism
9 March 2026 - 11:31 CET
Onchain variants of real-world assets have seen a monumental rise in the last one year, according to an article by blockchain research firm Nexus Data Labs. Assets jumped fourfold in value to $24.9bn in the 12 months through February, the report showed, citing data from RWA.xyz.
Tokenized treasuries, commodities swell
The major driving force for these financial instruments continues to be tokenized versions of US Treasuries, the darling of the global bond market. Onchain
treasuries almost doubled on the back of new tokenized offerings from asset
management giants such as Fidelity and VanEck.
Record gold prices encouraged token operators to amass over 40 tonnes of the precious metal to back their offering, a trove worth about $6.6bn at today's prices, the data firm added.
KYC challenges hold back DeFi adoption
While large firms continue to build assets on blockchains, only 11% of these
tokens are used in decentralized finance (DeFi), the firm said, referencing figures from DeFiLlama. The lacklustre market share of these tokens suggests that while institutions pile into the process of tokenization, appetite among DeFi users remains subdued.
One of the main reasons for this could be the cumbersome documentation needed to acquire and trade these assets, which contradicts the core spirit of DeFi. For more
widespread adoption, tokenization firms may need to find a way to simplify their KYC, according to the report.
