All terms
Real world assets tokenized so they can move and settle onchain.
RWA means representing something from traditional finance, such as Treasury bills, private credit, real estate or commodities, as a token on a blockchain.
The appeal is settlement speed, transparency and composability. The catch is that a token representing a bond still depends entirely on the legal structure and custodian behind it, which is off chain and requires trust.
Tokenized Treasury products let holders earn a yield onchain, and are now a multi billion dollar category.
That tokenizing an asset makes it trustless. The token is a claim on something a company holds in the real world, enforced by real world law. The chain moves the claim and does nothing to guarantee it.
Common questions
What counts as a real world asset?
What is the catch with RWAs?
Where to go next
More defi terms
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