A new report from DWF Labs puts the value of tokenized real-world assets onchain at more than $31 billion. But the bulk of that capital remains largely idle in the eyes of decentralized finance. According to the analysis, less than 10% of RWA capital is actively deployed in DeFi protocols today.
What the numbers show
The $31 billion figure covers everything from tokenized U.S. Treasury bills and bonds to private credit and real estate. DWF Labs compiled the data from public blockchain records and project disclosures. The finding underscores a gap between tokenization — the act of putting assets on a distributed ledger — and actually putting them to work in lending pools, trading venues, or yield-generating strategies.
Most issuers and investors have focused on the issuance step. Moving those tokens into DeFi applications has proved slower, partly because of regulatory uncertainty and partly because the infrastructure for trading and borrowing against RWA tokens is still being built.
The next phase of tokenization
DWF Labs argues that the winners in the next wave won't be the teams that simply tokenize assets. The firm says platforms that can enable liquidity, trading, and utility within DeFi will dominate the space. That means building venues where RWA tokens can be swapped, lent, or used as collateral without friction.
“The data suggests we're at an inflection point,” the report states. “The capital is there. The challenge is making it productive.” The firm didn't name specific platforms but emphasized that the current low utilization rate represents a market opportunity for those who solve the liquidity problem.
Big players jockey for position
BlackRock, Maple Finance, and Figure are among the institutions competing to unlock the utility of that $31 billion pool. Each is taking a different route. BlackRock has pushed tokenized money-market funds through its BUIDL product, which already attracts yield-seeking DeFi protocols. Maple focuses on private credit, letting institutional lenders originate loans that are tokenized and then traded in secondary markets. Figure uses its own Provenance blockchain to tokenize home-equity loans and student loans, and it operates a marketplace for those assets.
All three are racing to build liquidity around their tokens. BlackRock’s fund, for example, can be used as collateral in certain DeFi lending pools. Maple recently added a secondary trading facility for its credit tokens. Figure runs an alternative trading system for its loan tokens.
The competition highlights a broader truth: tokenization alone doesn't create value. The value comes from what you can do with the token once it's onchain. If the $31 billion can be pushed into DeFi, the total value locked in those protocols could climb sharply. For now, though, most of it sits untouched.
The next milestone to watch is whether any of the three — or a newcomer — can build enough liquidity to meaningfully move the needle above 10%. DWF Labs will likely update its numbers later this year as new platforms go live.
