Tokenized RWAs Reach $32B as Liquidity Fragments

Tokenized real-world assets on public blockchains reached $32 billion on Tuesday, driven by renewed institutional interest and new filings from Wall Street firms. JPMorgan filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an Ethereum-based stablecoin money-market fund aimed at stablecoin issuers.

Data tracked by rwa.xyz shows the onchain RWA market value has risen by about $10 billion so far in 2026. Tokenized U.S. Treasuries account for roughly half of the total market value and benefit from the deep liquidity of U.S. government debt.

Two major consulting and banking projections diverge sharply: one estimates tokenized market capitalization could reach $2 trillion by 2030, while another projects $30.1 trillion by 2034.

Industry participants caution that headline market-cap figures do not measure how easily assets can be traded. Chris Kim, founder and CEO of liquidity provider Axis, told reporters most projects concentrate on issuing tokens rather than building tradability. He argued issuance and the ability to trade an asset are separate challenges and that market-cap totals do not show how much of the $32 billion can be converted in active trading.

Research firms note aggregate valuations are affected by the mix of liquid and illiquid holdings on tracking platforms. One firm reported that tokenized real estate and other infrequently traded assets make precise present-market values difficult to determine. The same firm tracked $40.5 billion in tokenized gold trading volume and found that onchain gold prices frequently diverged from physical-gold markets until mid-2025, when the two began moving more closely together.

Fragmentation is another market issue. Market participants report the same underlying asset is often issued in multiple formats across different blockchains, creating separate liquidity pools, different custody arrangements and duplicated legal work for issuers. Axis operates a platform that captures arbitrage created by these price discrepancies.

A report from RWA.io estimated that moving capital between networks costs investors 2% to 5% per transaction in fees and slippage. The report placed current annual losses from these frictions between $600 million and $1.3 billion and projected those losses could grow to $75 billion by 2030 if fragmentation persists. The report stated the core technology to connect networks exists, but the infrastructure to link systems remains limited.

Operational failures onchain contributed to a 143% rise in reported financial losses in the first half of 2025 compared with the full year 2024, according to industry data. A January 2025 note from the International Monetary Fund warned tokenization could reduce some trading costs while increasing the risk of amplified shocks if financial institutions become more interconnected and hold lower liquidity buffers.

Chris Kim said he expects tokenization to become a standard in global capital markets over the long term but noted a gap between traditional finance liquidity profiles and current onchain liquidity. He added that more sophisticated liquidity providers capable of synchronizing offchain and onchain markets will be needed before tokenized markets operate like existing TradFi markets.