Real-World Assets Surpass DEXs, Become Fifth Largest Category in DeFi

Real-World Assets (RWA) Surpass DEXs

Real-world asset (RWA) protocols have emerged as clear winners in decentralized finance (DeFi) in 2025, surpassing decentralized exchanges (DEX) to become the fifth largest category by total value locked (TVL), according to DefiLlama. RWAs now represent approximately $17 billion in TVL, up from around $12 billion in Q4 2024, highlighting how quickly tokenized assets, private credit, and other real-world claims have transitioned from niche experiments to fundamental building blocks of DeFi.

According to Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research, the growth of RWAs is driven by "balance sheet incentives rather than experimentation," with high rates making tokenized assets attractive. Improved regulatory clarity also reduces barriers for institutional allocators.

This year, RWAs, excluding stablecoins, have surged to approximately $24 billion, with private credit and tokenized treasuries identified as key growth drivers. Furthermore, networks such as BNB Chain, Avalanche, Solana, Polygon, and Arbitrum are capturing a portion of RWAs' value on public chains.

Tokenizations of U.S. treasuries remain the primary product, with platforms like the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) and others contributing to the growth of the tokenized treasury segment beyond billion-dollar levels by December.

Additionally, rallies in gold and silver are providing renewed momentum to RWA trading, attracting more capital toward tokenized assets and underscoring their relevance in the macroeconomic landscape.