Real-World Asset Market Value Projected to Triple by 2026: A Look into Crypto-Native Use Cases and Utility

The global Real-World Asset (RWA) market valuation could surge by over threefold by 2026, predicts Chris Yin, co-founder and CEO of the RWA-focused layer-2 blockchain, Plume. In his prognosis, Yin expressed that the immense growth of the RWA value market will spread beyond its current boundaries majorly encapsulated within crypto-native applications and utilities.

Rapid RWA Market Adoption and Future Growth

In his interaction with well-known cryptocurrency and blockchain news platform, the CEO highlighted that the RWA market has observed significant adoption in the past year. Yin anticipates that this growth trend will continue, causing the RWA value to increase by a factor of three to five in 2026. This substantial rise in RWA adoption serves as an indication of the increasing trust investment entities hold toward RWAs. He stated, “We are currently on track to attain over tenfold the RWA holders since the onset of this year, and we expect us to maintain a constant upward trajectory. It’s not unfathomable to foresee another stellar year with 25x+ growth in user numbers.” Approximately $35 billion of RWA is believed to be entitled to “onchain” possession, and this figure is distributed across over 539,000 individual RWA holders.

RWA Market to Serve a Diverse User Base

According to Yin, while the market of tokenized RWAs predominantly serves the crypto-based sectors to date, he expects it to experience exponential growth touching upon various aspects like total value, users, asset classes, and utility. Currently, the majority of the total RWA value lies in US treasury bills. Yin added that he envisages a shift in this paradigm due to an evolving market and the influence of rate cuts pushing onchain users into new high-yield places.

Impact of Regulations on RWAs

Yin also expressed the potential role of regulatory practices on the adoption and evolution of the RWA market. The industry has observed several nations globally, with the United States included, ramping up their legislative efforts concerning tokenized assets and stablecoins. The CEO believes that such regulatory norms will expedite the integration of these assets into practical applications beyond test environments. Referring to this, Yin stated, “Aside from pure issuance on the supply side, we expect to witness demand-side activity soon.”

RWA Market Growth and Future Collaborations

In recent news, Plume announced a collaboration with Securitize – a tokenization platform sponsored by notable financial titans like BlackRock and Morgan Stanley. The latter intends to introduce multi-layered institutional-grade assets on Plume’s proprietary “Nest” staking protocol. The Nest protocol extends trading and yield earning capabilities on tokenized assets. The alliance with Securitize will connect token holders of the platform, of which currently boasts over 280,000 RWA holders on Plume’s blockchain. Coinciding with the collaboration, Plume will, for starters, cater to Hamilton Lane funds. Eventually, the platform plans to accommodate other issuers and asset classes provided by Securitize’s platform in 2026. Concluding the interview, Yin conveyed that Plume currently holds a robust position in the RWA ecosystem, with nearly 50% of the total number of holders among all RWA networks. Albeit, the platform doesn’t feature within the top ten RWA networks. Explaining the dynamics at play, Yin clarified that while the quantity of Plume’s RWA asset holders is significant, a sizable portfolio of RWAs is maintained on other networks. As of now, Plume’s served customers hold an aggregate of $200 million worth of RWAs. Yin believes these figures depict a healthier measure of application on Plume’s network. It indeed appears that as we look toward the future, RWAs have the potential to reshape the ways we manage and think about asset investment and growth. And as the market evolves, so too will the opportunities for investors and industries alike. With increased diversity and opportunity for returns, the RWA market promises an exciting future.