Tokenized Assets That Work: Enso CEO Connor Howe on RWA Looping

Tokenized assets are easy to buy and hold, but most of them still sit idle in a wallet. Enso wants to change that with RWA looping, a method that lets holders use tokenized assets as collateral, borrow against them and build a larger position in a single transaction.

Enso recently brought leveraged RWA strategies to Robinhood Chain. As of its October 9 announcement, more than 20 teams had routed about $17 million through Enso on the network, and roughly one in three wallets using Enso there had traded a Stock Token.

In this interview, Enso CEO Connor Howe explains how looping works, why atomic execution matters, which risks such as liquidation remain with the user, and what institutions need to see before using tokenized assets as collateral at scale.

Q1. Enso frames RWA looping as a way to move tokenized assets from passive holdings to productive collateral. What does that shift mean in practice for a holder?

Most tokenized assets today sit in a wallet and track the price of the underlying. Looping lets a holder use that asset as collateral, borrow against it and build a larger position in a single step, so the asset can support a strategy instead of only being held. In practice, that means the same tokenized asset can earn, be borrowed against or form part of a wider portfolio inside the app the holder already uses. It’s the kind of capital efficiency traditional markets have offered for decades, now available for assets that live onchain.

Q2. In simple terms, how does RWA looping work, and what does executing the steps as a single atomic transaction change for the user?

A loop has four core steps: supply an asset as collateral, borrow against it, swap the borrowed tokens into more of the asset, and supply again to increase exposure. Done manually, that is several separate transactions, and if one fails partway through, the user can be left with a half-built position. Enso uses a flashloan to fund the sequence and compiles every step into one transaction. Either every step completes and the flashloan is repaid, or the whole transaction reverts. The user signs once and ends up with the position they intended or no change at all.

Q3. Before leveraged RWA strategies became available through Enso on Robinhood Chain, what did it take for an app to offer leveraged positions on tokenized assets? And what does a team no longer have to build with a single integration?

A team had to integrate each lending protocol and liquidity venue separately, write the logic to sequence supply, borrow and swap steps, handle flashloans, and build safeguards for when a step fails. Then repeat much of that work for every new chain. With Enso, all of that sits behind one API. Teams describe the position they want, and Enso handles routing, sequencing, simulation and execution. Their engineers can spend their time on the product their users see.

Q4. Enso says apps can attach additional DeFi actions to leveraged RWA strategies to build more sophisticated financial products. What kinds of products do you expect builders to create?

I expect to see one-click strategies that package a looped position on a yield-bearing tokenized asset, such as tokenized Treasuries, into a single product. Builders will also combine loops with actions like rebalancing, partial deleveraging or moving collateral between protocols when rates change. Over time, I think we’ll see structured products that blend tokenized assets with stablecoin yields that are offered inside wallets and fintech apps. 

Q5. As of Enso’s October 9 announcement, more than 20 teams had routed about $17 million through Enso on Robinhood Chain, and roughly one in three wallets using Enso on the network had traded a Stock Token. How do you read that early activity, and does it point to demand for more than simple trading?

It shows builders want to offer tokenized assets to their users. Stock tokens already make up nearly 30% of the transactions routed through Enso on the network, showing that users will engage when access sits inside apps they already use. As tokenized assets become familiar, the natural next question is what else they can do, and that’s where collateral and strategies come in.

Q6. Leveraged positions carry risks such as liquidation. Enso says every transaction goes through pre-trade simulation and execution verification. What do those checks cover, and who is responsible for managing the risk once a position is open?

Simulation runs the full transaction against live chain state before it’s signed, so the app sees the expected output, gas, balance changes and whether any step would revert. Enso then checks that the transaction about to be signed still matches what was reviewed, including recipients, token movements and approvals, and that the quoted price hasn’t gone stale. Those checks protect the execution itself. They don’t remove market risk. Once a position is open, it carries the risks of the underlying asset and the lending market, including liquidation if collateral value falls. Enso executes transactions and doesn’t hold or manage positions. Assets stay in the user’s control, and the apps building on Enso decide how they present and manage that risk for their users.

Q7. What would institutions need to see before using tokenized assets as collateral at scale, and what role do features such as policy enforcement play?

Institutions need predictable execution, deep enough liquidity to enter and exit positions, and controls they can define and audit. Policy enforcement is central to that last point. It lets an institution set rules, such as which venues and protocols are allowed, price and slippage bounds, and geography and sanctions requirements, and have every transaction checked against them before anyone signs. That gives risk teams the kind of guardrails they rely on in traditional markets, applied consistently across every chain Enso supports.

Q8. Enso says partners will be able to support the next asset class or chain without starting over. Which tokenized asset classes do you expect to be put to work as collateral next, and what would that change for everyday users?

Tokenized Treasuries and money market funds are an obvious next step, since they’re already widely held onchain and behave predictably as collateral. Gold is also gaining traction onchain, with multiple issuers bringing tokenized versions to market. Looking ahead, I’d expect more tokenized equities and, eventually, private credit.

For everyday users, the change is that assets they already own can do more inside the apps they use. A tokenized fund could earn its yield and back a loan at the same time, without the user ever needing to touch the underlying DeFi complexity.

Ultimately, the opportunity is making those assets more useful, allowing them to serve multiple purposes through apps that make the underlying complexity invisible to the end user.