Tokenized RWA Market Cap Surges 40% to $51B as Equity Tokenization Accelerates

What happened: The tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market cap climbed by approximately 40% year-to-date, reaching $51 billion, according to Bernstein. This growth comes as the broader crypto market fell about 20% over the same period. Private credit dominates the RWA mix at 47%, followed by US Treasurys (30%) and commodities (9%). Monthly tokenized-equity transfer volumes hit a $5.3 billion run-rate in June, up from $3.6 billion in May and just $500 million in September 2025, reflecting a 130% acceleration. Figure leads platforms with $18.9B in tokenized AUM, trailed by Securitize ($4.3B), Ondo ($3.8B), Circle ($3B), and Tether ($2.5B in commodities). Bernstein highlights a pending "innovation exemption" as a potential catalyst for onshore tokenized US equities.

Why it matters: The rapid expansion of tokenized RWAs—especially in private credit and equity—signals growing institutional interest and a shift in how traditional assets are represented and traded. However, liquidity for tokenized equities remains far below that of underlying public markets, and the dominant business model (regulated stack vs. permissionless wrapper) is still unsettled. While Bernstein projects a bullish $420B stablecoin market by year-end, skeptics note that volume growth is highly concentrated among a few issuers, with Figure alone accounting for 37% of the total.

Source: The Block