Is the tokenization of real-world assets triggering a new cycle? Ondo and Securitize reveal the trillion-dollar potential of RWA

February 11 News, experts stated that the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA Tokenization) is still in the early stages of market hype, but its long-term potential is being accelerated and validated by traditional financial institutions and blockchain companies. As public blockchain infrastructure such as Ethereum gradually matures, asset onboarding is being viewed as an important component of the future financial system.

Min Lin, Managing Director of Global Expansion at Ondo, pointed out at the Hong Kong Consensus Conference that the U.S. Treasury market alone is valued at $29 trillion. When combined with the global stock market, the total scale approaches $127 trillion, with the U.S. accounting for about $69 trillion. This scale means that even a very small percentage of assets being tokenized on-chain could trigger a structural change in the entire crypto financial ecosystem.

Graham Ferguson, head of the Securitize ecosystem, said that although capital and technological enthusiasm are high, for tokenization to truly take hold, clear pathways need to be established in compliance, clearing, and asset transfer mechanisms. He emphasized that U.S. regulators are increasingly viewing tokenization as a “next-generation market infrastructure” rather than merely a compliance experiment.

In terms of practical approaches, the two companies have adopted different models. Ondo focuses on “encapsulated” tokenization, quickly mapping assets such as stocks, ETFs, or government bonds to on-chain tokens, allowing entry into DeFi scenarios under compliant conditions, such as for collateral or lending purposes. Its Ondo Perps product even supports directly using tokenized stocks as collateral to improve capital efficiency.

In contrast, Securitize emphasizes native issuance and compliance processes across jurisdictions, ensuring that each on-chain asset can trace the true beneficial owner. This approach develops more slowly but offers greater credibility in institutional financial scenarios.

Industry experts generally believe that RWA tokenization, blockchain asset onboarding, decentralized finance, and integration with traditional finance will become key growth drivers in the crypto market in the coming years. Despite ongoing regulatory and technological challenges, this sector has demonstrated the potential to reshape global capital flows.