RWA

Analyst Anndy Lian has questioned whether wrapping real-world assets into tokens delivers true crypto benefits or simply introduces extra intermediaries and expenses. Despite these concerns, the tokenized RWA market has reached $26 billion with 657K asset holders, supported by firms such as BlackRock and platforms including Robinhood and Hyperliquid. The sector's resilience during broader crypto weakness suggests continued demand even as critics warn of higher operational friction.

On March 3, 2026, Abu Dhabi's Financial Services Regulatory Authority approved nine Ondo Finance tokenized equities and the Invesco QQQ ETF for trading on Binance's Multilateral Trading Facility, restricted to non-U.S. investors. The products are structured as equity-linked notes tied to underlying stocks such as Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, Tesla, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Circle, with Ondo reporting over $11 billion in cumulative trading volume and more than $600 million in total value locked.

DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence model, expects Ethereum’s price outlook this year to remain constructive, even as the asset trades near $1,936 and is down 35% since the start of the year. The model forecasts a potential rebound to a $3,500–$5,500 range over the next ten months, which would exceed Ethereum’s August 24, 2025 all-time high of $4,953. As a base-case scenario, DeepSeek pinpoints $4,000 by 2026, linking this to Ethereum’s role in DeFi, RWA tokenization and growing institutional access via spot ETFs.

Ethereum is approaching an unprecedented seventh straight monthly decline while large holders between 100K and 1M ETH continue trimming positions. At the same time, the network's real-world asset segment has grown to more than $15 billion in total value locked, led by tokenized Treasuries, gold products, and institutional funds. Key technical levels now sit around $2,150 on the downside and $2,400–$2,500 on the upside as traders weigh price weakness against rising on-chain adoption.

According to TD Securities, the New York Stock Exchange's proposal for a tokenized equities alternative trading system could mark a key institutional milestone for blockchain-based markets. The planned platform would allow tokenized stocks and ETFs to trade around the clock with near-instant settlement while remaining anchored to DTCC infrastructure and NBBO rules. TD Securities believes this hybrid model may reshape core market plumbing for collateral, liquidity, and settlement, even though tokenized assets still represent a small share of overall equity activity.

TD Securities vice president Reid Noch views the New York Stock Exchange’s proposed tokenized-equities alternative trading system as a pivotal market-structure development. The planned venue would allow 24-hour trading with near-instant settlement of tokenized stocks and ETFs while remaining within existing U.S. rules, signaling growing institutional focus on onchain real-world assets.

Bitfinex Securities plans to restart USDt-denominated tokenized bond issuances on Bitcoin's Liquid Network for Luxembourg-based fund ALTERNATIVE, after four earlier offerings totaling $6.2 million since 2023. The new sales are expected to surpass $10 million, with onchain fundraising, coupon payments and principal repayments, while the broader move coincides with an ongoing U.S. policy debate over yield-bearing stablecoin products.

Northern Trust Asset Management has introduced a tokenized share class for its NIF Treasury Instruments Portfolio, entering the digital assets arena with a blockchain-based ownership mirror. The fund continues to invest in short-term US Treasurys and seeks to maintain a $1.00 per-share value, while nearly $11 billion in US Treasury debt is now represented on public blockchains. The new share class will initially be available via BNY's LiquidityDirect platform, which runs on Goldman Sachs' Digital Asset Platform.

By February 2026, tokenized gold’s market cap surpassed $6B after roughly $2B of inflows, with over 1.2 million ounces stored in regulated, audited vaults. In 2025, capitalization climbed 177% and volume jumped 1,550% to $178B, while Q4 turnover topped $126B and outpaced the five largest gold ETFs, as EU and Singapore rules enforced strict one-to-one backing and audits.

Iran's crypto ecosystem reached $7.78 billion in 2025, with IRGC-linked addresses handling over half of inflows, and the central bank purchasing at least $507 million in USDT. Russia signed a law enabling court-ordered crypto seizures, while the Bank of Korea urged banks to lead KRW stablecoin issuance. Japan's FSA backs AML trials from March to May 2026.