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📈 DeFi Up 72% - RWA The Driver

RWA World Newsletter - Sept 5, 2025

Author

Ray Buckton
September 05, 2025

Did your week fly by too? Ray Buckton, Head of Research at RWA World, surprised at how fast summer came and went. 🏖️


Time is moving quickly, as Citi looks toward the future of digital assets and AI, and Google takes a stab at Ethereum’s market share with its new GCUL blockchain. 🗡️

🎯🔥 Rapid Fire Takeaways:

It’ll have to be quite a slice for Google to dominate. DeFi usage is up 72% and Ethereum ETFs are seeing $455 million in inflows as the network's compliance-first edge is helping it win the RWA race. 🏃

And if you are building in RWA, you won’t want to miss the upcoming RWA Summit on September 16-17th. Fairmint is the Title Sponsor, and with over $1 billion in volume processed, they’ve been laying the groundwork for tokenized equity for 7 years. DM us for more information and a discount code. 👀

🏛️ Govs, Regs, and Associations

The Treasury has opened a comment window, and the Fed is having a conference on stablecoins as US Treasuries soar past $7.45 billion, proving that the GENIUS Act has created a $200 billion market opportunity. Companies have noticed, with Kraken meeting the SEC Task Force and Chainlink and Pyth delivering US economic data on-chain. A continent away, Argentina is leaning hard into tokenized securities. 🌐

In Europe, tokenized deposits are Britain’s response to stablecoins. The mainland is looking into public blockchain solutions for its digital euro as Lagarde calls for stronger stablecoin legislation. Conversely, ESMA is wary of tokenized stocks, with the European Commission targeting December for broader RWA clarity. Then there’s ruble-backed stablecoins, which may be used to skirt sanctions. 💶

Japan is preparing for its yen-backed stablecoin with Monex Group. They’re moving quickly, with deposit tokens being eyed for 2026 and tokenized entertainment assets on the agenda, including… tokenized idol groups. Circle claims no plans for a won-backed stablecoin, but the central bank wants a won-based CBDC for government subsidies. As Seoul tokenizes real estate, RWA is redefining South Korean transactions. ⛩️

Thailand is tokenizing sovereign debt, while Hong Kong and China have been in the limelight recently. Futian Investment Holding is tokenizing the first Chinese public corporate bond on Ethereum, and Yufeng Financial bough $44 million worth of ETH for its treasury. The Bank of China is considering its own stablecoin licensing plans, as tokenization may be the tool China needs to help its ailing property sector. 🐉

💰 Funding And Friendship 

Exciting times for funding. Our friends at Kasu Finance just raised $1 million from XDC! Other notable raises include: 

Sometimes partnerships are more strategically viable than investments. This week, AlloyX Group merged with Huaying Holdings at a valuation of US$350 million. Other partnerships this week include:

Tons of funding and partnerships this week! Something tells us this is just the beginning — even more to come from here. 🔮

👛 Stablecoins

Stablecoins continue to dominate. Annum Capital has an excellent report on stablecoins for family offices, and Bitso Business has one focused on stablecoin in LATAM. As the payment rails become invisible, more startups are paying their teams in stablecoins, with the sector poised to surge to $2 trillion by 2029. Tether continues to expand, becoming a gateway for FX brokers and bringing in Bo Hines as an advisor, while walking back plans to freeze USDT on five legacy chains. But don’t discount good old-fashioned equity exposure to stablecoin issuers like Circle. ⚪

From thwarting financial fraud to bolstering money markets, stablecoins are quickly emerging as the future of payments. While jurisdictions like China assess the risks of the asset class, corporations continue to innovate, with PetroChina exploring cross-border payment use cases and Shinhan dabbling as well. Rain added support for yield-bearing stablecoins and BenFen introduced gasless transactions for stablecoin transfers. ⛽

🆕 New Platforms, Programs, Tools, and Integrations

Technical integrations are always fun to see. They’re what make asset tokenization possible. This week we have: 

Before you can integrate anything, it has to be built, which is why new launches are always so exciting. No shortage of those this week, either: 

We’re seeing the building blocks of RWA take shape in real time. Every new release is like a new set of Lego bricks hitting the market – it won’t be long before it’ll be a snap to build any tokenized tool you can imagine. 🌌

📊 RWA Sectors & Ecosystems

It’s all coming together, with Citi rethinking digital assets and newcomers like Circle threatening Visa and Mastercard on their own turf. Crypto treasuries continue to soar, with Ledn and Sygnum refinancing a $50 million Bitcoin loan. The infrastructure is also maturing, with a $30 billion migration into Ethereum liquid staking protocols and the Ethereum Foundation introducing a new tokenized proof-of-burn asset. 🔥

Tokenized alternative funds are up 47% in just 30 days, hitting $1.7 billion, as Kraken brings equity to Ethereum and Finloop unveils Asia’s first stock tokenization solution in Hong Kong. Stocks and funds are the only assets coming to the party. Falcon Finance established an on-chain insurance fund to hedge its assets, while the UAE’s RAK Properties is officially accepting Bitcoin and crypto for real estate deals. 🏘️

On-chain gold is also getting a transparency overhaul, while Bitcoin Ordinals represent tokenized gold assets. It's a good thing SmartGold is bringing $1.6 billion worth of the stuff on-chain with Chintai, as we’ll need a lot more of it to keep up with demand. And wouldn’t ya know – tokenization prevents 394 million tons of CO2 per year, and with carbon credits getting tokenized, we can all feel good about things moving on-chain. ♻️

💝 That’s A Wrap!

There’s never a dull week in asset tokenization. 

Especially the week of September 16-17, when the RWA Summit is happening.

Make sure to keep an eye on Fairmint, the Title Sponsor for the event. 

With 7 years of experience in tokenized equity and over $1 billion in volume processed, there are massive things in the works.