Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has released data showing that institutional capital is driving a rapid expansion of tokenized real-world assets, with the market approaching $30 billion in total assets under management and some categories reaching $1 billion in value within months of launch.
In a report preview, Chainalysis said asset-backed credit reached the $1 billion milestone in just 6.1 months from issuance, while specialty finance took 21.5 months to reach the same threshold. By contrast, tokenized commodities took 36.2 months and tokenized stocks have yet to cross the $1 billion mark, underscoring how institutions are leading adoption ahead of retail-oriented products.
“The tokenized real-world asset market is growing rapidly, with institutional asset categories such as asset-backed credit leading this growth and reaching $1 billion in market value faster than retail categories, such as commodities and stocks,” the report said.
Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) are digital representations of traditional financial instruments, including bonds, private credit funds, equities and commodities, issued and traded on blockchain networks.
Chainalysis pointed to regulatory clarity as a key driver of the acceleration, citing the passage of the GENIUS Act in July 2025, which established a federal framework in the United States for payment stablecoins. The report said updated compliance rules have clarified how institutions can safely hold and report digital assets, removing a major barrier to large-scale deployment.
Ethereum wallet data show a spike in new addresses created specifically to hold tokenized assets throughout late 2025 and early 2026, with nearly all of these purpose-built wallets holding institutional-grade products such as asset-backed credit and specialty finance, while retail categories such as commodities see broader participation from older crypto-native addresses.
“RWAs aren’t reserved for advanced users and use cases; instead, they are a key reason why institutions come on-chain in the first place,” the report said.
The report also identified early signs of convergence between on-chain and traditional markets, noting that tokenized gold volumes, which historically showed weak correlation with traditional gold markets, have moved into strong correlation territory since the second quarter of 2025 and remained there into 2026, a signal that the market is maturing.
Chainalysis concluded that digital asset infrastructure is increasingly functioning not just as a platform for payments or speculation, but as a parallel system for traditional financial markets, and that institutions integrating tokenization early could gain a competitive advantage as liquidity deepens.
