Stablecoins, staking tokens and RWAs are bridging crypto’s yield-generation gap, bolstered by the historic approval of the US GENIUS Act in July. Cryptocurrency-based yield products still lag far behind their traditional finance (TradFi) counterparts, but new blockchain sectors such as liquid staking tokens (LSTs) and real-world assets (RWAs) are steadily closing the gap, according to a new report co-authored by RedStone Oracles, Gauntlet, Stablewatch and the Tokenized Asset Coalition, shared with Cointelegraph. Only 8% to 11% of cryptocurrencies offer passive yield-generating models, indicating a significant gap compared to 55% to 65% of TradFi assets, roughly a fivefold disparity, the report found. However, stablecoins, RWAs and “blue-chip” yield tokens are rapidly closing decentralized finance’s (DeFi) passive income gap. Emerging regulations, such as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, passed in July, are helping the industry catch up, resulting in a rising de...
The $300 billion stablecoin market capitalization pushed DeFi into a “self-sustaining cycle” of growth, according to the investment bank’s head of research. Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) may reach a cumulative value of $2 trillion in the next three years as more global capital and payments migrate onto more efficient blockchain rails, according to investment bank Standard Chartered. The bank said in a Thursday report shared with Cointelegraph that the “trustless” structure of decentralized finance (DeFi) is poised to challenge the dominance of traditional financial (TradFi) systems controlled by centralized entities. DeFi’s growing use in payments and investments may bolster non-stablecoin tokenized RWAs to a $2 trillion market capitalization by 2028, the investment bank predicts. Read more
RWAs may bring billions in climate investments onchain by offering a new blockchain-based “trust” layer for institutional investors. Tokenized assets are emerging as a blockchain-based trust layer for institutional investors targeting sustainable market opportunities, signaling a potential influx of capital onto blockchain rails. Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization refers to financial and tangible assets minted on a permanent blockchain ledger, offering benefits such as fractional ownership, wider investor access and 24/7 liquidity. According to Corey Billington, co-founder and CEO of tokenization infrastructure firm Blubird, tokenized RWAs offer a tamper-proof trust system that is absent in traditional finance and climate finance. Read more
Ethereum’s role in stablecoins, RWAs, and DeFi is fueling institutional interest, positioning ETH as a reserve asset, store of value, and digital oil. Key takeaways: ETH is increasingly viewed as a reserve asset for the digital dollar economy, with over 54% of stablecoins issued on Ethereum. Fidelity sees Ethereum as a sovereign digital economy, with ETH acting as both a store of value and a medium of exchange. Read more
Most RWAs remain isolated and underutilized instead of composable, DeFi-ready building blocks. It's time to change that. Opinion by: Jakob Kronbichler, co-founder and CEO of Clearpool and Ozean Real-world assets (RWAs) onchain aren’t just a concept anymore — they’re gaining real traction. Stablecoins are proof of that. They’ve become a dominant source of onchain volume, with annual transfers surpassing Visa and Mastercard by 7.7% last year. Tokenized US Treasurys are gaining interest from institutions hunting for yield. Read more
Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) continue to gain traction as crypto firms push for clear regulations for onchain financial instruments. Mercado Bitcoin, a major crypto exchange in the Latin America region, announced on Friday that it is tokenizing $200 million in real-world assets (RWAs) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The real-world assets include tokenized fixed-income and equity financial instruments, according to an announcement from Ripple, the blockchain company that launched the XRPL. A report published by Boston Consulting Group and the blockchain company forecasted the tokenized RWA market to swell to a $19 trillion market capitalization by 2033. Read more
Big names, including Securitize, Ethena, Ant Digital and Tradeable, see custom-built Ethereum L2s as the future for trillions in RWAs. Shortly before Ethereums shock 50% price surge earlier this month, when bearishness about its roadmap was reaching its zenith, Real Vision founder Raoul Pal was asked on a podcast if he thought Ethereum was cooked. The former Goldman Sachs executive said hed heard that narrative a lot, but it was wrong not least because TradFi considers Ethereum to be the Microsoft of blockchain. “It clearly works very well for what the financial markets need,” he said. Read more