The RWA track is rapidly developing: from new public chains to the competition of asset tokenization, the scale of the BUIDL fund has exceeded 1 billion USD.

RWA (Real World Assets) is undoubtedly one of the fastest-growing areas in Web3. As of March 25, the total on-chain value of RWA has reached $19.53 billion, increasing by 19.58% in the past 30 days. Compared to $9.407 billion in the same period last year, the on-chain value of the RWA market has grown by 108% within a year. In terms of the total value of RWA on blockchain networks, Ethereum leads with $5.01 billion, followed by ZKsync Era ($672 million) and Algorand ($473 million).

Recently, the RWA sector has seen several important developments, involving innovations in public chains, asset tokenization competitions, the mortgage-backed securities market, and real estate tokenization among other aspects. This article will provide a brief overview and introduction to these latest dynamics.

Converge: A New Public Chain Designed for the Integration of TradFi and DeFi

Converge is a traditional finance and digital dollar settlement network. Its goal is to provide the first settlement layer designed specifically for the integration of traditional finance and decentralized finance, centered around USDe and USDtb, and secured by ENA.

The blockchain mainly has two core application scenarios:

1. Settlement for permissionless spot and leverage DeFi speculation;
2. Storage and settlement of stablecoins and tokenized assets.

Currently, five protocols have committed to building and distributing institutional-grade DeFi products on Converge, including Aave Labs' Horizon, Pendle Institutional, Morpho Labs, Maple Finance, and Syrup, as well as EtherealDEX.

Sky 1 Billion USD Asset Tokenization Competition Results Announced

On March 18, the Spark tokenization grand competition initiated by an organization announced its winners. The three winners will each receive funding support of $500 million, $300 million, and $200 million, respectively, to bring tokenized assets into the Spark liquidity layer.

This initiative aims to diversify Spark's investment portfolio and accelerate the tokenization of RWAs. Upon approval from the relevant governance, these assets will be included as collateral for the native stablecoin USDS and the yield-bearing stablecoin sUSDS.

DigiFT Launches Two On-Chain Tokenized Index Funds

On March 25th, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore announced the launch of two index funds that fully tokenize fund shares and their underlying assets, enabling on-chain trading, aimed at qualified and institutional investors.

The first batch of products includes:

• AI Stock Index Fund (tracking Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Nvidia, etc.)
• Web3 Index Fund (covering crypto assets such as BTC, ETH, SOL)

These funds operate based on smart contracts, support subscription and redemption in USDT and USDC, do not require a bank account, and have real-time on-chain transparency and a 24/7 settlement cycle.

Figure promotes on-chain mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market

Figure Technology Solutions currently holds nearly 80% of the tokenization private credit market and is innovating the mortgage-backed securities capital market through blockchain technology. Several major financial institutions are adopting Figure's DART electronic lien registration system to advance their application of the Figure Connect loan market.

The loan market automates loans on the Provenance blockchain, allowing homeowners to obtain Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) approvals within minutes and receive funds within days, while eliminating manual review processes.

Republic and Hamilton Lane Launch Tokenized Private Infrastructure Fund

An online capital raising platform has partnered with an asset management company to launch a tokenized private equity infrastructure fund aimed at retail investors, with a minimum investment threshold of only 500 dollars.

This fund is the first "perpetual" tokenized infrastructure fund in the United States open to non-accredited investors. It will acquire direct positions and secondary interests, covering infrastructure assets such as data centers, energy pipelines, and transportation hubs.

Dubai Launches Real Estate Tokenization Pilot

The Dubai Land Department has launched the pilot phase of the "Real Estate Tokenization Project," becoming the first registration authority in the Middle East to implement blockchain-based real estate property tokenization. The project is expected to exceed a market value of $16 billion by 2033, accounting for 7% of the total real estate transaction volume in Dubai.

This development comes at a time when the UAE's focus on asset tokenization is on the rise, including a certain group announcing plans to tokenize $1 billion in assets.

Fidelity Increases Investment in RWA Track

Fidelity has applied to register the "OnChain" stock class for its tokenized dollar money market fund, Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund (FYHXX). The fund was launched at the end of last year and holds cash and U.S. Treasury securities. According to relevant document information, the "OnChain" class of the FYHXX fund currently utilizes the Ethereum network and may expand to other blockchains in the future.

BUIDL Fund Surpasses $1 Billion in Assets Under Management

On March 14, a BUIDL fund of an asset management company surpassed $1 billion in assets under management, becoming the first institutional-grade on-chain fund to reach this milestone. BUIDL is backed by short-term government bonds and offers daily returns to qualified investors, similar to an on-chain stablecoin.

BUIDL has surpassed other similar products, becoming the largest on-chain fund globally, accounting for about one-quarter of the entire $4.2 billion on-chain government bond market. BUIDL runs on the Ethereum mainnet and extends to multiple other public chains, supporting cross-chain bridging.

On March 25, the asset management company announced a partnership with another institution to expand BUIDL to Solana. In addition to continuously expanding its BUIDL business, the company is also increasingly venturing into the cryptocurrency market.

Conclusion

Currently, the BUIDL Fund has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management, becoming a landmark event in the RWA sector recently. From public chain construction, tokenization funds, to innovations in the real estate and credit markets, RWA is becoming one of the most watched areas in the crypto industry. With institutional funds continuously pouring in, and the improvement of infrastructure, RWA is expected to further expand its influence in the crypto market and even in the global financial system, making future developments worth looking forward to.