- Tokenized U.S. Treasuries exceed $6B, led by BlackRock and major institutions.
- RWA market projected to reach $18.9T by 2033, driven by institutional growth.
- Digital identity remains a key hurdle for broader asset tokenization adoption.
Tokenized U.S. Treasuries have surpassed the $6 billion mark in early 2025, marking a major rise in institutional adoption of blockchain-based financial instruments. This move reflects growing demand for on-chain yield products and real-world assets (RWAs) that can be traded and verified digitally.
The shift is backed by large contributions from major financial institutions and asset managers, including BlackRock, Ondo Finance, and Franklin Templeton. The increase follows a period of small growth through 2023, with a steep climb in tokenized treasury holdings beginning in early 2024.
Data compiled by Bitwise Asset Management and RWA.xyz shows that from Q1 2023 to Q1 2025, tokenized treasuries grew from under $1 billion to over $6 billion, with a pronounced acceleration starting in Q1 2024. This surge points to a broader transformation within capital markets as blockchain infrastructure gains traction among traditional financial institutions.
Key Institutions Leading the Charge
The largest growth share has come from BlackRock, whose tokenized treasury products gained dominance from Q3 2024 onward. Ondo Finance and Franklin Templeton also contributed to the increase in total value. Additional institutional participants include Superstate and WisdomTree, alongside a category labeled “Others,” all showing steady upward trends.
These tokenized products exclude stablecoins issued by entities such as Circle and Tether, instead focusing on regulated instruments tailored for institutional investors. The exclusion aims to highlight developments in formal financial products, separate from algorithmic or reserve-backed stable assets.
RWA Market Expected to Reach $18.9 Trillion by 2033
A recent report from Ripple and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) projects the global RWA market will expand from $0.6 trillion in 2025 to $18.9 trillion by 2033. This projection represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53%, signaling wide institutional support and an evolving infrastructure base.
The report forecasts that by 2029, the value of tokenized assets will hit $4.6 trillion, doubling to $13.4 trillion by 2031. The trend continues through 2032 and 2033, reaching $16.5 trillion and $18.9 trillion, respectively.
Core segments contributing to this expected growth include Investment and Corporate Banking, Private Banking and Wealth Management, Retail and Universal Banking, and Alternative Investments like private equity and venture capital. Sectors such as Payments, Fintech, Consumer, and Healthcare are also projected to see rising levels of tokenization.
Digital Identity Emerges as a Core Obstacle
However, tokenization still experiences a major issue to date: digital identity. Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, stated that to tokenize more assets, stocks, bonds, and real estate, the last but most crucial factor is solving the question of identification safely using blockchain.
The Know Your Customer (KYC) and the Know Your Business (KYB) data are centralize to work on central data stores which can be hack or misuse. On-chain identity can be an alternative to traditional approaches as it allows for user- controlled encrypted ID data that are interoperable with other platforms without compromising on data centralization.
