RWA TVL surpasses $17 billion! Why are real-world assets becoming the new growth engine for DeFi?

Since 2025, Real-World Assets (RWA) have been reshaping the DeFi landscape. From not being in the top ten at the beginning of the year to now surpassing $17 billion in total value locked (TVL) and becoming the fifth-largest sector in DeFi, RWA has evolved from a marginal concept to a core industry force. This change also marks the acceleration of DeFi towards institutional-grade finance.

Structurally, RWA growth is not characterized by a “flowering” of many projects but by high concentration. Leading protocols such as Tether Gold, Securitize, Paxos Gold, Circle’s USYC, and Ondo dominate the market share. Since the beginning of 2025, these industry leaders have continuously expanded their market share, further squeezing the survival space for small and medium projects, and industry exhibits clear economies of scale.

At the public chain level, Ethereum has once again established its dominance. Currently, over $12 billion of RWA is deployed on the Ethereum mainnet, accounting for more than half of the entire market. Previously, emerging public chains diverted some RWA funds, but in terms of liquidity, security, and institutional preference, Ethereum is re-attracting core assets back.

The performance of returns also explains RWA’s attractiveness. According to CoinGecko data, RWA has been the best-performing segment in crypto so far in 2025, with a year-to-date increase of 185.8%, far surpassing DeFi, DEX, AI, and blockchain gaming sectors. Projects like Keeta Network, Zebec, and Maple Finance have become key drivers of the RWA sector’s rise. Although this increase is lower than the explosive growth seen in 2024, the more stable returns also indicate the industry’s gradual maturity.

In terms of asset types, tokenized gold remains the core pillar of RWA. Tether Gold and Paxos Gold, with features like redeemability, compliant custody, and high liquidity, are the preferred choices for institutional allocations. Meanwhile, tokenized stocks are rapidly expanding, with a market cap surpassing $1.2 billion, showing that on-chain real-world financial assets are accelerating.

Overall, the rise of RWA is not a short-term trend but an important step for DeFi to integrate with real-world finance. As regulatory frameworks and infrastructure improve, RWA is expected to continue being a key engine for long-term growth in DeFi.