RWAs Are Defining the Next Phase of Crypto Adoption—Chainlink Co-founder

• RWA development is contributing to the crypto industry’s progress.
• Tokenization of the assets on-chain has unique and durable long-term value.
• The RWA sector is exhibiting independence from crypto price fluctuations.

Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov has identified the real-world assets (RWAs) maturity as a crucial factor contributing to the progress of the digital assets industry, particularly within the current crypto market cycle.

RWA Development is Not Affected by Crypto Price Fluctuations

Nazarov cited the RWA sector’s continued development regardless of fluctuating Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices as a positive development for the crypto industry. According to him, it signals that having real-world assets on-chain is not tightly coupled to cryptocurrency prices but provides its own unique value that can grow irrespective of the market pricing of Bitcoin or other crypto assets.

In the meantime, Nazarov has identified key trends that he expects to work together to reshape the crypto industry as it moves into the next stage of its growth toward mainstream adoption. His assumptions include that on-chain perps about real-world assets and the tokenization of those assets on-chain have unique and durable long-term value, which is growing regardless of other dynamics.

Institutional Crypto Adoption is Crucial to the Industry’s Evolution

He also cited the increasing institutional adoption of cryptocurrency products, driven by the fundamental value it provides as a key element in reshaping the industry. This adoption is accelerated by permissionless markets in DeFi. Meanwhile, the infrastructure that supports RWAs will experience more demand as more of the real world finds itself on-chain.

Nazarov noted that, besides the RWA sector’s “independence” from crypto price movements, other events happening during the current crypto cycle also reveal how far the industry has progressed. He specifically mentioned the absence of large risk management failures as a notable stride in the crypto industry’s growth.

According to him, unlike in the previous cycle, where FTX and other lenders cleaned out through large price drops, the situation is different this time. There are no major cases of wide-scale product collapses. He noted that weathering the large drawdowns in price and liquidity issues makes the industry more reliable for putting both retail and institutional capital.

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