In 2020, the idea that BlackRock would tokenise a money market fund on a public blockchain would have seemed far-fetched. By 2026, BlackRock's BUIDL fund holds over $1.5 billion in on-chain assets, Ondo Finance offers permissionless access to US Treasury yields in DeFi, and the aggregate tokenised real-world asset market has surpassed $15 billion. RWA tokenisation has crossed the chasm from crypto experiment to institutional infrastructure — and it's creating a new category of investment opportunities that blur the line between traditional finance and DeFi.
Three converging forces have driven RWA growth into a major category in 2025–2026. First, the sustained high-yield environment: US Treasury rates above 4–5% made tokenised T-bills an extraordinarily attractive DeFi collateral asset, offering yield far superior to the near-zero rates that had dominated DeFi liquidity for years. Second, institutional validation: BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and other major asset managers published their own tokenised products, lending legitimacy to blockchain-based securities infrastructure and demonstrating that regulatory-compliant tokenisation at institutional scale was achievable. Third, DeFi demand: protocols like MakerDAO (Sky) discovered that backing stablecoin collateral with tokenised Treasuries rather than crypto-native assets dramatically improved yield and stability — creating demand pull from within DeFi that accelerated supply-side tokenisation.
The largest and most accessible RWA category. These products represent fractional ownership of US Treasury bills, notes, or money market funds invested primarily in government securities. They offer stable NAV (near $1 per share for short-duration products), daily yield accrual, and in the best implementations, DeFi composability as collateral assets.
Ondo Finance USDY: The most accessible permissionless Treasury yield product. USDY (US Dollar Yield) is available to non-US persons and offers daily accrued yield from short-duration US Treasuries. USDY is transferable and usable as collateral across DeFi protocols on Ethereum, Solana, and Mantle. As of 2026, USDY holders earn yields near the prevailing Fed Funds rate minus a small protocol fee. To access USDY, visit Ondo Finance's portal, complete KYC (non-US nationals only), and mint by depositing USDC. USDY can then be used across integrated DeFi protocols or held for yield.
Ondo OUSG: For US qualified institutional buyers, OUSG provides exposure to BlackRock's institutional Treasury ETF (SHV) on-chain. Higher minimum investment but deep integration with major DeFi protocols as premium collateral.
BlackRock BUIDL: Institutional minimum investment ($5 million). Not directly accessible to retail investors but increasingly used as collateral within institutional DeFi and as the backing asset for yield-bearing stablecoins. BUIDL's existence is significant as institutional-grade proof that blockchain settlement is viable for traditional asset management.
Franklin Templeton BENJI: Available to retail investors through Franklin Templeton's app with lower minimums than BUIDL. BENJI shares are recorded on Stellar and Polygon. Yield accrues daily; redemptions typically settle same-day to next-day. BENJI is useful as a yield-bearing cash alternative for crypto-native investors who want Treasury exposure without leaving the blockchain ecosystem entirely.
Superstate USTB: Managed by the team behind Compound Finance. Treasury bill product with DeFi composability in mind. Increasingly accepted as collateral in lending protocols targeting institutional borrowers.
Private credit tokenisation is more complex and higher risk than Treasury tokenisation, offering higher yields in exchange for illiquidity, credit risk, and operational complexity. These products channel DeFi capital into real-world loans — business lending, trade finance, real estate debt, and fintech lending — and pay yield from the borrowers' interest payments.
Centrifuge: The most established private credit protocol, with over $600 million in total originations since 2021. Centrifuge structures each credit facility as an on-chain pool with senior (lower yield, lower risk) and junior (higher yield, first-loss) tranches. Investors choose their risk/reward position within each pool. Active pools include invoice financing facilities, residential real estate loans in the US and EU, and emerging market business loans. To invest, connect a wallet to Centrifuge's app, complete KYC, and review the pool documentation (which describes the borrower, collateral, loan terms, and historical performance). Expect yields of 8–15% APY depending on pool and tranche, with 30–90 day liquidity windows.
Maple Finance: Focuses on institutional borrowers — trading firms, market makers, and blockchain-native companies. Maple pools are managed by "Pool Delegates" who perform credit underwriting; lenders deposit into pools and earn yield from interest paid by borrowers. Maple offers higher yields than Treasury products (typically 8–12% on USDC) in exchange for credit risk. Maple experienced defaults in 2022 during the crypto credit crisis; its rebuilt underwriting standards post-crisis have been more conservative. Review the Pool Delegate's track record and borrower disclosure before depositing.
Goldfinch: Specialises in emerging market lending. Capital from DeFi investors funds lending to fintech companies in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America who lend locally. Goldfinch offers yields of 10–17% on USDC. The risk profile is distinct from developed market credit: emerging market credit risk, currency risk (even though deposits are in USDC, underlying loan performance depends on local economic conditions), and the Goldfinch protocol's own smart contract risk. Goldfinch uses a unique "trust through consensus" model where Backers stake GFI tokens to vouch for specific lending pools, adding a layer of skin-in-the-game underwriting incentives.
Real estate tokenisation remains smaller in absolute terms but addresses a genuine democratisation need. Traditional real estate investment requires large capital (minimum $100,000+ for most private real estate deals), long lock-up periods, and extensive paperwork. Tokenisation enables fractional ownership of single properties with minimums as low as $50.
RealT: US-based, offering fractional ownership of US residential rental properties. Each property is held by an LLC; RealT tokens represent membership interests in the LLC. Token holders receive weekly rental income distributions (typically 8–12% gross yield pre-expense) proportional to their ownership fraction. Tokens can be traded on a secondary market (the RealT marketplace or Uniswap), providing more liquidity than traditional real estate. Limited to US accredited investors and certain non-US investors; check eligibility before investing.
Lofty: Similar model to RealT — fractional US residential real estate with daily rental distributions. Lower minimums ($50 per token) and a secondary marketplace. Available to some non-accredited US investors under certain structures; regulatory status varies.
Real estate tokenisation carries the risks of both traditional real estate (vacancy, maintenance costs, local market conditions, property management quality) and on-chain risk (smart contract bugs, platform risk if the operator fails). Research the specific property, its rental history, and the legal structure carefully before investing.
Before investing in any RWA product, apply this framework:
Legal structure: What is the legal claim? Is the on-chain token backed by a valid, audited legal structure (SPV, LLC, trust) that gives token holders enforceable rights to the underlying asset? Has external legal counsel confirmed the structure is valid in the relevant jurisdiction?
Custody: Who holds the underlying assets? What is the custodian's reputation, regulatory status, and insurance coverage? Can you independently verify on-chain that the assets are held as claimed?
Smart contract risk: Has the protocol been audited? By whom, and when? Is the code open source? Is there a bug bounty program?
Liquidity: What is the redemption process and timeline? Is there a secondary market for the token? Under what conditions could redemptions be delayed or suspended?
Counterparty/credit risk: For private credit products, who are the borrowers? What is their credit history? What collateral backs the loans? What happens in the event of default?
RWA is one of the most exciting frontiers in crypto because it creates genuine utility — bringing productive, yield-generating assets on-chain — rather than simply speculating on token appreciation. Applied carefully with the framework above, RWA exposure can provide portfolio diversification, stable yield, and real-world impact in markets that blockchain capital can serve more efficiently than traditional finance.
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