Investment bank Standard Chartered expects the market capitalization of real-world tokenized assets (RWA) to surge to $2 trillion by 2028, matching the current size of the global stablecoin market.
According to the bank’s newly released report, more global capital and settlement flows are migrating onto blockchain-based infrastructures, fueling exponential growth in DeFi and RWA ecosystems.
“Stablecoin liquidity and DeFi banking are essential precursors to rapid RWA market expansion. We anticipate exponential sector growth in the coming years,” said Geoff Kendrick, Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered.
Rapid growth trajectory
Data from RWA.xyz shows that the combined capitalization of tokenized real-world assets currently stands at around $35.5 billion. Standard Chartered’s projection implies a 57-fold increase over the next three years.
The bank estimates that from the anticipated $2 trillion total:
- $750 billion will come from money market funds,
- $750 billion from tokenized U.S. equities,
- $250 billion from tokenized U.S. funds, and
- $250 billion from less liquid assets such as private equity, commodities, corporate debt, and real estate.
Stablecoins driving DeFi’s “self-reinforcing cycle”
Kendrick emphasized that stablecoins have triggered a “self-reinforcing growth cycle” in decentralized finance, where liquidity continuously fuels new product creation and vice versa.
“In DeFi, liquidity creates new products — and new products bring more liquidity. We believe this cycle has just begun,” he wrote.
Market backdrop and RWA leaders
The RWA segment has already grown 245× year-over-year, reaching $21 billion in April 2025, according to Coinbase.
Meanwhile, tokenized U.S. Treasury instruments have surged by over 540% this year to $5.6 billion, per CoinGecko.
The stablecoin market has also expanded by nearly 47% since January, surpassing $300 billion in early October 2025 — a key driver for the RWA sector’s liquidity boom.
Regulatory uncertainty remains the key risk
Despite optimistic forecasts, Standard Chartered warned that regulatory ambiguity remains the biggest challenge for tokenized assets.
The report cautioned that U.S. progress could stall if President Donald Trump’s administration fails to pass comprehensive crypto legislation before the 2026 midterm elections.
Tether Gold’s record growth
At the same time, Tether Gold (XAUT) — a stablecoin backed by physical gold — reached a record $2.1 billion in market capitalization by the end of Q3 2025, supported by soaring gold prices.
“Tether Gold demonstrates that real assets can exist on-chain effectively, without compromise,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.
Broader implications
October 2025 marked a turning point for tokenized finance, as an increasing number of investment funds, fintechs, and even government agencies began adopting blockchain-based asset management models.
Gold prices have hit all-time highs this year amid inflationary pressure, geopolitical uncertainty, and strong demand from central banks and institutional investors — strengthening the narrative for blockchain-based representation of traditional assets.
