10 Best RWA Crypto Projects in 2025

Real-world assets (RWAs) are digital tokens representing physical or financial assets outside the blockchain, such as real estate, commodities, bonds, equities, artwork, intellectual property, and more.

By putting these assets on the blockchain, RWAs strengthen liquidity, accessibility, transparency, as well as tackling the inefficiencies of traditional markets.

There are multiple projects, including Chainlink, Mantra, Avalanche, Hedera, and more, which are constantly building regulatory-compliant infrastructure designed to onboard trillions of dollars worth of assets to the blockchain industry. Many institutions, such as BlackRock, JP Morgan, and Swift are notable supporters of real-world assets.

Larry Fink famously said that:

“Asset tokenization is the future of finance.”

The following is a comprehensive breakdown of the 10 best RWA crypto projects to put on your investment watchlist in 2025.

• Chainlink (LINK) – Provider of Critical RWA Oracle Infrastructure
• Avalanche (AVAX) – L1 BlockchainTailored to the Needs of Real-World Assets
• Hedera (HBAR) – Real-world Asset Tokenization at Scale
• Mantra (OM) – Hyperfocused on Real-World Assets, Very Specialized
• Ondo Finance (ONDO) – Safe Protocol for Yield-Generating Tokenized Real-World Assets
• VeChain (VET) – Real-World Asset Protocol with a Focus on Supply-Chain Management
• Algorand (ALGO) – the Eco-Friendly RWA Chain
• XDC Network (XDC) – Hybrid Real-World Assets Platform for Global Trade and Finance 
• MakerDAO (SKY) – Leading Platform for Tokenized RWAs as Collateral
• Centrifuge (CFG) – high-powered tokenized real-world assets marketplace

Quick Navigation

• 10 Best RWA Crypto Projects in 2025
• Types of RWA Protocols
• Benefits of RWAs
• Risks and Legal Challenges for Real-World Asset Cryptos
• The Future of RWA Cryptos
• Closing Thoughts: The Best RWA Crypto Projects in 2025

10 Best RWA Protocols in 2025

In the following, we take a closer look at the 10 best real-world asset cryptocurrencies and projects to put on your watchlist in 2025. We’ve looked at various criteria such as innovations, popularity, mindshare, and other social and financial metrics. At the same time, though, our selection criteria is also based on additional factors such as security, features, ecosystem, founders, funding, and more.

Chainlink (LINK) – Provider of Critical RWA Oracle Infrastructure

Chainlink is one of the industry’s veteran projects. By market capitalization, it is classified as the number one RWA coin. It is a decentralized oracle network designed to connect real-world data with smart contracts. To put this simply, blockchains cannot “communicate” with data outside of the blockchain, and to do so, they need a solution that feeds them this data. That’s called an “oracle,” and that’s essentially what Chainlink does.

It solves this issue by acting as a bridge between off-chain data sources and on-chain code, enabling smart contracts to interact with the outside world in a trustworthy and tamper-proof way.

One of its more innovative efforts is its decentralized approach to sourcing information. Instead of relying on just one oracle, Chainlink uses multiple independent data providers, which increases reliability and minimizes the risk of data manipulation. Furthermore, Chainlink incentivizes accurate reporting with LINK (the native token of the ecosystem), which compensates node operators for delivering precise information.

Key Features of Chainlink:

• It’s a decentralized oracle network critical for the RWA field
• Founded in 2017 by Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis
• Connects smart contracts with real-world data
• Uses many independent data providers for enhanced security
• LINK token used to incentivize accurate data reporting

Avalanche (AVAX) – General-Purpose Layer-one Tailored to the Needs of Real-World Assets

Avalanche is a general-purpose layer-one solution that is focused on optimizing its high-performance and decentralized smart contract platform for the needs of the real-world asset ecosystem. It’s designed to offer fast, low-cost, and eco-friendly solutions and aims to solve some of the limitations found in competitive networks.

The protocol’s Avalanche consensus algorithm is a new approach to consensus, rather different from Proof-of-Work (PoW) or Proof-of-Stake (PoS). It allows thousands of validators to reach consensus very quickly, which is why Avalanche is said to be one of the quickest chains out there, at least when it comes to transaction processing speed.

It is also very flexible and supports the creation of so-called “subnets.” These are customizable blockchain networks tailored for specific applications or enterprises, making it very suitable for RWA applications. However, it also makes Avalanche appealing for gaming, NFT, and DeFi solutions.

The platform’s native token is AVAX. It is used for staking, network security, and transaction fees.

Key Features of Avalanche:

• Founded by Emin Gün Sirer and Ava Labs (2020)
• Uses the Avalanche consensus algorithm
• Supports custom subnets
• Architecture is scalable and eco-friendly
• Popular for RWA, DeFi, NFT, and other solutions
• Quick transactions
• Sub-second block finality

Hedera (HBAR) – Real-world Asset Tokenization at Scale

Co-founded in 2018 by Dr. Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon, Hedera offers a next-generation public blockchain designed to surpass traditional blockchain technology. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the protocol is that it’s not a blockchain per se. Instead, it uses a unique structure called Hashgraph—this is the main reason many people refer to the project as Hedera Hashgraph.

This technology delivers incredibly high throughput, very fast block finality, and relatively low energy consumption, making it a strong contender for tokenizing real-world assets at scale. Beyond that, Hedera’s goal is to provide very efficient, secure, and scalable solutions for decentralized applications (dApps), enterprise solutions, and, of course, RWA projects.

Another interesting feature that sets Hedera apart is its governance model. A lot of the traditional decentralized systems are typically governed by anonymous participants. Hedera, however, relies on a council of leading enterprises, which include, but are not limited to the likes of IBM, Boeing, Google, and many others. This particular model is designed to guarantee fairness, stability, as well as a sufficient level of decentralized trust.

The native token of Hedera is HBAR and it is considered a strong contender for the title of the best RWA coin out there. It’s used to pay for transaction fees, to secure the network (through staking), and to power dApps and various services that are running on the platform.

Key Features of Hedera:

• Founded in 2018 by Dr. Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon
• Doesn’t run on a blockchain but on Hashgraph
• Low-latency transactions, high-speed
• Eco-friendly and energy-efficient
• Governed by major global enterprises
• Suitable for RWAs at scale

Mantra (OM) – Hyperfocused on Real-World Assets, Very Specialized

UPDATE: As of April 14th, the price of the native token of Mantra (OM) plunged by more than 90% in less than an hour. CEO and co-founder JP Mullin alleged that certain centralized exchanges forced OM-collateralized positions into liquidations, denying any possibility of a rugpull. CryptoPotato is monitoring the situation and will amend the list should more information come to light. 

Founded by a team of blockchain veterans, including current CEO John Patrick Mullin, Mantra brings forward a decentralized blockchain ecosystem that has evolved through the years to currently be hyperfocused on real-world asset tokenization.

It was developed through the Cosmos SDK, providing users and developers with the tools and frameworks for creating and managing tokenized assets. Mantra allows for converting real estate, commodities, and other financial instruments into digital tokens that can be traded on blockchain networks.

Mantra is operating on its own layer-one network, but it is highly interoperable and scalable. The team behind it is building a expandable suite of tooling for developers, while also launching its own solutions targeting the real-world asset space. In the first quarter of 2025, they announced a massive $1 billion deal with DAMAC Group of Dubai – one of the leading real estate developers in the region. The effort aims to streamline the real-world asset tokenization process for users in the Middle East.

Key Features of Mantra:

• Hyperfocused on real-world assets
• Highly scalable and interoperable
• Appeals to institutions with solutions that are compliance-ready
• Bridges traditional finance with DeFi
• High profile partnerships

Check out CryptoPotato’s recent interview with Mantra’s CEO here:

Ondo (ONDO) – Safe Protocol for Yield-Generating Tokenized Real-World Assets

Founded by Nathan Allman, a former Goldman Sachs banker, Ondo Finance brings forward a blockchain-based protocol that provides institutional-grade financial products and services. It focuses on tokenizing stable, yield-generating assets from traditional finance —such as treasury bonds— to offer individuals the reliability of conventional financial systems mixed with blockchain accessibility.

The protocol has integrated its tokenized products into multiple blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Aptos, and Solana, to expand the accessibility and utility of real-world assets. It offers products like OUSG, a tokenized version of a BlackRock short-term US Treasuries ETF, and OMMF, a tokenized BlackRock money market fund, providing on-chain exposure to traditional financial instruments.

To support and govern its tokenized assets, the protocol runs through ONDO stakeholders and partners through its ecosystem, including the Ondo Foundation and the Ondo DAO.

Key Features of Ondo Finance: 

• Attracts both retail and institutional investors
• Regulatory-first approach for institutions
• Focus on real-world assets (RWAs)
• Offers on-chain US Treasuries, bonds, and more
• Founded by an ex-Goldman Sachs professional

VeChain (VET) – Real-World Asset Protocol with a Focus on Supply-Chain Management

Those of you who have been around for a while are surely familiar with VeChain. Founded by Sunny Lu, the former CIO of Louis Vuitton in China all the way back in 2015, VeChain started with a very clear focus on luxury goods authentication. Since then, however, the protocol has expanded considerably to serve various industries such as logistics, carbon management, healthcare, and food safety.

Lu’s vision is to enable businesses to build a suite of transparent and efficient supply chains, while integrating blockchain-based technologies without burdensome technical barriers.

The protocol operates a dual-token system consisting of VET and VTHO. VET is the value-transfer token which is used predominantly for payments and smart contracts. VTHO, which stands for VeThor Token, covers the cost of transactions and network operations. The purpose of this model is to stabilize transaction fees, while making the protocol more enterprise-friendly.

Undoubtedly, one of the strongest suits of VeChain is its strong range of enterprise partnerships, which includes companies like DNV GL, Walmart China, BMW, and more. All of them are using the protocol’s solutions to improve data verification and traceability across their supply chains.

Key Features of VeChain:

• Focus on supply-chain management and real-world assets
• Dual-token model: VET for value and VTHO for gas fees
• Very strong partnerships with global enterprises
• Scalable architecture
• Designed for businesses to integrate easily

Algorand (ALGO) – the Eco-Friendly RWA Chain

Algorand was founded by Silvio Micali in 2017. He is a renowned cryptographer, an MIT professor, and a Turing Award winner, making his background very valuable for the protocol’s development.

The network has been specifically designed to address the “blockchain trilemma.” This means that it aims to achieve security, decentralization, and scalability all at once. It enables low-cost transactions and supports smart contracts, NFTs, DeFi, and enterprise solutions.

At its core is the Pure Proof-of-Stake (PPoS) consensus algorithm, which randomly selects validators from the entire pool of ALGO token holders, ensuring decentralization and fairness.

Among other things, the protocol is also praised for its green credentials. The network is carbon-negative, meaning that it contains minimal energies, especially compared to traditional solutions. This makes it very attractive for ESG-compliant companies and enterprises focusing on tokenized real-world assets that are also environmentally-efficient.

Key Features of Algorand:

• Founded by Silvio Micali, MIT professor & Turing Award winner
• Pure Proof-of-Stake (PPoS) consensus
• Fast, low-cost, scalable transactions
• Carbon-negative, eco-friendly blockchain
• ALGO token for fees, staking, and governance
• Supports DeFi, NFTs, and enterprise use cases

XDC Network (XDC) – Hybrid Real-World Assets Platform for Global Trade and Finance

XDC Network has a primary focus of improving the accessibility, transparency, and the efficiency of financial transactions and cross-border trade. It does so by combining powerful features of both public and private blockchain networks.

It was launched as XinFin in 2017, which stood for eXchange inFinite. It was co-founded by Atul Khekade, who is a well-known blockchain entrepreneur with considerable experience in the field of financial solutions. The network uses a hybrid blockchain model. It allows sensitive information to remain private, while also leveraging the public chain for security and transparency.

It relies on a Delegated Proof of Stake (XDPoS) consensus mechanism, which enables fast transaction finality of around 2 seconds. It also enables low fees and makes the network very scalable, handling as much as 2,000 transactions per second.

Undoubtedly, one of the protocol’s most impressive applications is its focus on Trade Finance Distribution or TFD. It connects global trade financiers with tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), streamlining the access to liquidity.

The native token of the protocol is called XDC and it is used for transaction fees, staking, and smart contract execution.

Key Features of XDC Network:

• Enterprise-grade, hybrid blockchain
• Focus on global trade finance solutions
• XDPoS consensus: fast, low-cost, scalable
• XDC token for fees, staking, and governance
• Supports tokenized trade assets and instant settlement
• Active in Trade Finance Distribution (TFD) Initiative

MakerDAO (or SKY) – Leading Platform for Tokenized RWAs as Collateral

MakerDAO is undoubtedly one of the pioneering projects in decentralized finance (DeFi) and has recently rebranded to Sky. It operates on Ethereum and is best-known for creating DAI – the very first decentralized stablecoin.

Users are able to deposit different cryptocurrencies as collateral and mint DAI, which is an algorithmic stablecoin that’s pegged to the US dollar.

Originally, MakerDAO used to support only assets such as Wrapped BTC (wBTC) and ETH for collateral, but that’s no longer the case. To improve stability and diversify risk, the project has expanded into real-world assets. These include tokenized treasury bills and various trade finance products. The RWAs are integrated directly into the protocol’s collateral portfolio and users can generate non-crypto-native yield, while at the same time reducing their exposure to the otherwise volatile crypto market.

Key Features of MakerDAO (SKY): 

• Founded by Rune Christensen (2015)
• Creator of DAI, a decentralized stablecoin
• MKR token for governance and protocol decisions
• Overcollateralized lending system
• Integrates Real-World Assets (RWAs) for stable yields
• RWAs include treasury bills, real estate loans, trade finance

Centrifuge (CFG): High-Powered Tokenized Real-World Assets Marketplace

Centrifuge is one of the largest RWA protocols. Its primary goal is to lower the cost of capital for small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) while providing investors with a stable income source.

It offers SMEs liquidity through blockchain technology by tokenizing real-world assets into collateral. These assets can be pretty much anything from the real world—bonds, invoices, real estate, revenues, and more.

Overall, Centrifuge seeks to create a trustless, transparent, and accessible financial system by allowing borrowers and lenders to transact peer-to-peer with no intermediary fees or hidden costs.

The protocol collaborates with leading DeFi protocols, such as MakerDAO, to enhance collateral transparency through projects like “Proof of Portfolio,” enabling independent verification of Centrifuge portfolios. It provides access to diversified and stable yields backed by real-world assets, including financing options for invoices, real estate, and revenue-based financing.

At the core of Centrifuge is Tinlake, its open marketplace for tokenized real-world assets. Through Tinlake, asset originators can mint NFTs representing their physical assets, use them as collateral, and access liquidity pools funded by DeFi investors. This creates a decentralized credit system that benefits both businesses seeking capital and investors looking for yield from stable, asset-backed investments.

Key Features of Centrifuge:

• Founded by Lucas Vogelsang and Maex Ament
• Focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization
• Tinlake marketplace for asset-backed financing
• Built on Polkadot parachain for scalability
• CFG token for governance and staking
• Enables SME access to DeFi liquidity
• Bridges traditional finance with decentralized lending

Types of RWA Protocols

The integration of RWAs into decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms has created new possibilities for financial services. There are various types of Real-World Asset (RWA) protocols, each targeting different asset classes:

• Tokenized Treasuries

These are the most popular types of RWA protocols. They focus on tokenizing government bonds and general government-issued debt instruments. These tokens are backed by real treasury reserves held by the issuer, providing secure exposure to yield-generating assets in the blockchain. Examples include Ondo Finance and Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund.

• Real Estate

Platforms like Tangible enable real estate tokenization, allowing users to mint stablecoins backed by real estate and offering fractional property ownership through NFTs. This increases market access with lower capital requirements and enhanced liquidity.

• Debt/Private Credit

These protocols tokenize loans and private credit. MakerDAO and Centrifuge are notable examples, with MakerDAO expanding into real-world lending and Centrifuge tokenizing various debt instruments.

• Precious Metals and Commodities

The tokenization of commodities like gold, silver, and oil allows for fractional ownership and easier trading. Pax Gold is a notable protocol that tokenizes gold.

• Emerging Markets

Accessing traditional loans is difficult in these countries because the financial infrastructure is often underdeveloped. However, several protocols, like Goldfinch, focus on providing access to emerging markets, which are often challenging to invest in through traditional means.

• Oracle/data feeds

Protocols like Chainlink provide essential infrastructure for tokenizing and managing real-world assets on the blockchain by offering Oracle services that connect off-chain data to on-chain smart contracts.

Benefits of RWAs

Tokenization offers solutions to various operational inefficiencies across industries. The main benefits include:

• Higher accessibility and liquidity
• Reduced transaction costs with fewer intermediaries
• Increased transparency
• Programmability for new investment features and operational options, including AI-powered portfolio management and automated trading strategies available through leading AI cryptocurrency projects.

Tokenization is particularly beneficial for large asset classes like treasuries and real estate. Real estate, often considered highly illiquid due to limited affordability, regulatory hurdles, and lack of information, can benefit significantly from tokenization. Here’s how:

• Elimination of intermediaries, allowing 24/7 asset transfers
• Complete transparency with all information stored on the blockchain
• Higher accessibility through better frameworks for fractional ownership

Several crypto protocols, such as Chainlink, collaborate with global financial companies to integrate tangible and intangible real-world assets into the blockchain.

Risks and Legal Challenges for RWAs

Investment opportunities in RWAs depend on the tokenization and distribution of assets. Platforms leading the RWA narrative must provide infrastructure and compliance protocols due to varying laws across jurisdictions. This creates challenges and opportunities for a broader investor base.

However, the success of RWAs heavily depends on how well these protocols adapt to regulatory laws. Switzerland is one of the few countries with established crypto laws, highlighting the importance of infrastructure and compliance protocols for mass adoption.

Further, as RWAs gain traction, different types of protocols will play a significant hand in pushing the industry forward:

• Auditors will verify on-chain assets, ensuring trust.
• On-chain oracles like Chainlink have to feed off-chain data to protocols and entities.
• Compliance protocols like Tokeny provide legal guidance and infrastructure for seamless onboarding and asset management.

The Future of Real-World Assets

Industry reports indicate that the tokenization market could reach approximately $3.5 trillion in a worst-case prolonged bearish scenario and up to $9 trillion in a bull market, as per data from 21.co.

Additionally, Boston Consulting Group estimates that tokenizing illiquid assets could represent a $16 trillion business opportunity, accounting for 10% of global GDP.

Closing Thoughts: The Best RWA Protocols in 2025

Traditional assets often struggle with limitations like lack of interoperability and lack of liquidity. In this sense, blockchain technology is becoming a solution to address these and other bottlenecks.

For instance, RWAs can be used as collateral for loans, be included in index funds, or be managed through autonomous protocols, bridging the gap between traditional finance and the crypto world.

This convergence has the potential to create a more inclusive and efficient financial system, offering investment products similar to those found in traditional finance but with the added benefits of blockchain technology. Beyond financial assets, blockchain is also revolutionizing physical infrastructure through decentralized infrastructure networks, expanding the tokenization concept to hardware and connectivity resources.