The Real-World Asset (RWA) market witnessed substantial growth in 2024, reaching a market value of $14.9 billion, excluding stablecoins. This growth showcases a 60% increase compared to the previous year, RWA’s rapid expansion. Among the milestones achieved, the tokenized asset market soared to $2.774 billion by February 2, 2024, highlighting the growing adoption of tokenized solutions.
Financial assets, including U.S. Treasury bonds, real estate, and private credit emerged as critical growth drivers. These segments collectively attained a market value of $1.614 billion, with a notable peak recorded on February 8, 2024. Issuance activity remained robust, with $1.2 billion issued across 13 deals during the year. Cumulatively, $4.5 billion was issued across 71 transactions, led by financial institutions, which accounted for 54% of the total issuance.
Tokenized RWAs Thrive Along with Bonds, Credit, and Commodities Surge
The tokenization of U.S. Treasury bonds also experienced remarkable success, winding up 2024 with a market capitalization of $3.8 billion, up from $1 billion at the start of the year. This segment accounted for 58.1% of all financial asset RWAs and drew over 11,000 holders.
Along with RWA, Private credit has also recorded notable growth with active loan values reaching $9.53 billion and an overall market size of $16.2 billion. With an average annual percentage rate of 9.91%, tokenized private credit has proven to be a strong performer in the RWA space. Meanwhile, tokenized commodities such as gold reached $1.05 billion in market capitalization, supported by over 58,610 holders.
Ethereum ($ETH) Leads RWA Market with 81% Share
Ethereum ($ETH) maintained its dominance in the RWA market, holding an 81% share of total issuance by the end of 2024. The platform hosted over 97,000 RWA token holders and facilitated 205,000 unique addresses interacting with these assets.
Additionally, decentralized exchange activity surged, with trading volumes for RWA tokens growing from $2.3 billion in December 2023 to over $3.6 billion by April 2024. This upswing results from enhanced trading, decentralized markets, and the ushering of the RWAs into the next absorption stage into the financial and operational network.
