Investment bank Standard Chartered predicts that the market for real-world tokenized assets (RWAs) could reach $2 trillion by 2028, a level that would equal the current size of the stablecoin market, according to a report by the bank provided to Cointelegraph.
According to analysts, more and more global capital and payment transactions are shifting to more efficient blockchain solutions, which is driving the exponential growth of DeFi and RWA.
“Stablecoin liquidity and DeFi banking are important pre-requisites for a rapid expansion of tokenized RWAs. We expect exponential growth in RWAs in the coming years,” said Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets at Standard Chartered.
According to RWA.xyz, at the time of writing, the total capitalization of tokenized real assets is $35.5 billion. Standard Chartered’s forecast implies a growth of more than 57 times by 2028.
The bank expects that out of the future $2 trillion:
- $750 billion will come from money market funds
- Another $750 billion will be allocated to tokenized US equities
- $250 billion in tokenized US funds
- Another $250 billion in less liquid assets, such as private equity, commodities, corporate debt, and real estate
According to a Coinbase report, the RWA segment grew 245 times over the year and stood at $21 billion in April 2025.
Meanwhile, according to CoinGecko, the growth of the tokenized treasury securities sector was 544.8%, and in absolute terms, their amount reached $5.6 billion.
At the same time, the market capitalization of stablecoins exceeded $300 billion in early October 2025, which is an increase of almost 47% since the beginning of the year.
Kendrick noted that this factor has become a catalyst for the sustainable development of decentralized finance.
“In DeFi, liquidity begets new products, and new products beget new liquidity. We believe a self-sustaining cycle of DeFi growth has started,” he wrote.
Despite the optimistic forecasts, Standard Chartered warns that regulatory uncertainty remains the main threat to the RWA segment. The bank warns that progress could stall if the administration of US President Donald Trump fails to pass comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation before the 2026 midterm elections.
Amid growing interest in RWA, the stablecoin Tether Gold (XAUT) showed record dynamics. As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, XAUT’s capitalization exceeded $2.1 billion, making it the largest gold-backed tokenized asset.
According to the company’s statement, October 2025 was a watershed month for the tokenized asset market, as more and more investment funds, fintech companies, and government agencies are moving to blockchain asset management models.
Gold prices have risen to historic highs in 2025, driven by inflationary pressures, geopolitical risks, and demand from central banks and large investors.
“Tether Gold proves that real-world assets can thrive on-chain without compromise,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.
It is worth noting that in the Binance Research report for 2024, the capitalization of the RWA sector increased to $12 billion, and Real Vision’s leading analyst Jamie Coutts predicted an increase to $1.3 trillion by 2030.