Tokenized Treasuries skyrocketed 125%, creating this “programmable cash” loop that banks are scrambling to copy

Tokenized real-world assets reached $19.72 billion on Jan. 9, the closest the market has come to the $20 billion threshold.

That figure measures distributed assets, which are tokens that circulate on-chain and can be transferred between user wallets. As a result, it excludes another $19.78 billion in active private credit loans, which are tracked as represented assets on-chain for recordkeeping but don't enable open transfers.

The distributed RWA market splits into three segments. US Treasuries and money market funds dominate, accounting for $8.86 billion in on-chain collateral. Tokenized commodities, led by gold, sit near $4 billion.

The remainder, consisting of institutional funds at $2.84 billion, distributed private credit tokens at $2.32 billion, tokenized equities at $801 million, and bonds at $880 million, represents the experimental edge. Here, growth has been explosive, but issuer concentration remains extreme.

Stablecoins, measured separately at $307.6 billion, dwarf the entire RWA stack and function as the liquidity rail that tokenized assets plug into.

The past 12 months rewrote the trajectory. Treasuries roughly doubled. Institutional funds grew eightfold. Private credit's distributed tokens primarily represent loan participation, while the $19.78 billion in active loans, up 100% from an estimated $9.88 billion in January 2025, reflects the actual lending activity that generates yield.

Treasuries anchor the stack

Tokenized US Treasuries grew from an estimated $3.95 billion in January 2025 to $8.86 billion by January 2026, a 125% increase. BlackRock's BUIDL fund crossed $2 billion in April 2025, one year after launch, and has distributed $100 million in dividends as of December of the same year.

Binance accepted BUIDL as collateral in November, and Ethena's USDtb stablecoin now backs 90% of reserves with BUIDL tokens.

JPMorgan launched its own tokenized money market fund, MONY, on Ethereum in December, with a $100 million seed. The pattern: institutions are treating tokenized Treasuries as programmable cash.

Smart contracts automate interest payments, redemptions happen 24/7, and tokens move peer-to-peer without intermediaries. Against $28 trillion in total outstanding US Treasuries, the tokenized segment remains microscopic, but infrastructure is scaling faster than adoption.

Institutional funds deliver the growth multiple

Institutional alternative funds grew from roughly $350 million to $2.84 billion, a 714% increase.
Centrifuge holds 34.29% market share, Securitize controls 31.02%. That concentration means partnership decisions by a handful of tokenization providers move the entire category.

These funds bring private equity, credit, and structured products on-chain with familiar regulatory frameworks. Tokenization reduces friction in secondary trading and allows fractional ownership, while yields remain attractive from 8% to 12%. Additionally, on-chain settlement transparency appeals to institutional compliance teams.

The catch: liquidity is issuer-dependent. Most secondary markets rely on redemption mechanisms controlled by fund managers rather than open order books.

A 2025 academic analysis found that tokenized assets exhibit low trading volumes despite growing market caps. Until more venues offer compliant secondary trading, institutional funds will scale through issuance rather than true market-making.

Gold dominates commodities, equities show velocity

Tokenized commodities grew from approximately $1.06 billion to nearly $4 billion, driven almost entirely by gold. PAXG and XAUT account for over 80% of commodity activity, as demand spiked 227% as precious metals hit record highs.

Tokenized public stocks reached $801.36 million, up from roughly $250 million, a 218% gain.

Ondo Finance controls 51.6% by value. Monthly transfer volume hit $2.66 billion despite the modest market cap, indicating high turnover. Active addresses fell 26% over 30 days, suggesting participation is concentrating among fewer, more active traders.

Corporate bonds total $193.31 million with 14,300 holders. Cashlink controls 62.49%, JPMorgan holds 25.86%. Non-U.S. government debt stands at $686.66 million, with Spiko accounting for 80.72%.

These are proof-of-concept deployments where institutions test infrastructure before committing larger capital pools.

Ethereum leads, Stellar grows fastest

Ethereum holds $12.6 billion, equivalent to 64.51% of the distributed RWA market. BNB Chain accounts for $2.02 billion (10.37%), Solana $924.59 million (4.75%), Stellar $829.48 million (4.26%), and Arbitrum $745.92 million (3.83%).

Stellar grew 28.% over 30 days, the fastest expansion among major chains, while Solana gained 16.56% and BNB Chain 12.11%.

Ethereum's dominance reflects first-mover advantage and institutional familiarity. BlackRock launched BUIDL on Ethereum before expanding to seven other blockchains.

Nevertheless, multichain strategies are accelerating.

Nearly 70% of BUIDL's assets now sit outside Ethereum, deployed where users and liquidity congregate. Interoperability providers like Wormhole enable seamless cross-chain transfers, which matters when liquidity fragments across networks.

Private credit: two measurements, one market

Private credit illustrates RWA.xyz's methodological shift in 2025. The platform now distinguishes “distributed” assets, which are tokens that circulate on-chain and can be transferred between user wallets, from “represented” assets, which use blockchain as a recordkeeping layer without enabling open transfer.

Private credit's $2.32 billion in distributed value represents the tradable, transferable portion of loan participation tokens. The nearly $20 billion in active loans represents the underlying lending activity tracked on-chain but not freely transferable.

The amount in active loans grew from an estimated $9.88 billion in January 2025, representing a 100% gain. Cumulative loan originations totaled $36.29 billion across platforms such as Figure ($14.48B active), Tradable ($2.3B active), and Maple ($1.63B active).

Borrowers pay an average APR of 10.14%. Figure dominates with 73% of active loans, operating on the Provenance blockchain. Tradable holds 12% on ZKSync Era, while Maple accounts for 8% across Ethereum, Solana, and Base.

The distinction between distributed and represented matters because it reveals how tokenization serves different functions.

Distributed private credit tokens allow secondary trading of loan participations, creating liquidity for an otherwise illiquid asset class. Represented assets use blockchain for transparency, reconciliation, and operational efficiency, without exposing loans to open-market trading.

Most private credit remains in the “represented” category because lenders prefer controlled distribution over open secondary markets.

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters stated in late 2025 that the majority of transactions will eventually settle on-chain.

Private credit tests that thesis. If loan origination, servicing, and settlement move fully on-chain with distributed tokens, efficiency gains are substantial.

However, custody for debt instruments, collateral management, and legal enforceability in insolvency all require more clarity before the market scales beyond its current $2.32 billion distributed footprint.

$30 billion to $57 billion distributed by 2027

Distributed RWAs could reach $30.8 billion (bear), $41.4 billion (base), or $57.0 billion (bull) by end-2027, assuming annual growth of 25%, 45%, and 70%, respectively.

Tokenized Treasuries would scale to $13.8 billion (bear) or $19.9 billion (bull). Private credit's distributed tokens could reach $3.6 billion (bear) or $6.4 billion (bull), while the underlying active loans, measured separately as represented assets, could reach $28.5 billion (bear) or $50.6 billion (bull).

The bull case requires specific catalysts: clear pathways for tokenized fund distribution in major jurisdictions, more venues for compliant secondary trading, and deeper integration of Treasuries as collateral across on-chain credit protocols.

Private credit's evolution from represented to distributed depends on whether lenders embrace open secondary markets for loan participations or prefer controlled, permissioned transfer mechanisms.

Those catalysts are materializing. The UK's FCA signaled a September 2026 crypto licensing gateway. Barclays backed Ubyx for tokenized money infrastructure. Visa and JPMorgan are experimenting with Solana rails.

The bear case assumes infrastructure lags and regulatory uncertainty persists.

Custody challenges remain central. Traditional custodians are still building capabilities for digital wallets, smart contract governance, and interoperability with tokenization platforms.

What actually drives the next 18 months

Four factors determine whether 2027 looks like the base or bull case.

First, tokenized Treasuries must become standard collateral across major trading venues and lending platforms. BlackRock's expansion to eight blockchains and integration with Ethena's stablecoin infrastructure is the template.

Second, tokenized funds must solve the secondary market problem. Institutional alternative funds are growing eight times faster than other segments, but liquidity remains tied to issuer redemptions. If regulated venues support order-book trading for tokenized fund shares, the segment accelerates.

Third, the custody and settlement infrastructure must be professionalized. Institutions allocate to assets they can safely custody and audit clearly.

Progress is happening, as Zodia, Copper, and Fireblocks build enterprise-grade solutions, but adoption takes time.

Fourth, stablecoin integration must deepen. At nearly $308 billion, stablecoins are the liquidity substrate for RWAs.

The GENIUS Act provided clarity, and platforms are embedding stablecoins as settlement rails.

China announced it will pay interest on the digital yuan, explicitly targeting dollar stablecoin competition. If US stablecoins remain competitive, RWAs benefit.

The $20 billion milestone is a marketing number. What matters is whether the infrastructure supporting that $20 billion can handle $50 billion without breaking.

The past year proved that issuance scales fast when institutions commit. The next 18 months will test whether market depth, custody rails, and regulatory frameworks can support the weight.

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