The RWA Market Might Not Be As Valuable As It Seems
The crypto market for RWAs (Real World Assets) is largely an overrated illusion according to Chris Yin, CEO of Plume. He challenges the official figures and claims that the current hype is based on false data, far from reflecting the reality on the ground or the genuine interest of institutions.
In Brief
- The RWA market is overrated: it would be worth 10 billion, not 21 billion as announced.
- No institution is genuinely placing capital on-chain, despite the storytelling around RWAs.
- The market remains immature, hindered by the lack of regulated infrastructures and players.
- The promise of 30 trillion by 2030 seems unrealistic without massive institutional adoption.
21 Billion Dollars? Really?
The crypto sector never ceases to surprise us with shock revelations, and today it is the turn of Real World Assets to be unmasked. In fact, according to Chris Yin , current estimates placing the capitalization of RWAs at over 21 billion dollars are simply false. “I think all the data is wrong. The real number is closer to 10 billion,” he states, mainly referring to Treasury bonds and gold, with a small portion of private credit.
Unfortunately, the crypto data from RWA.xyz confirms this trend! Of the 17.4 billion measured at the end of April 2025, 60% is private credit, 27% Treasurys, and only 8% commodities.
The truth is even harsher: according to the CEO of Plume , no institution is actually putting money on-chain. “They mainly try to capture capital from the crypto ecosystem,” he claims. Their goal? To earn more, not to optimize processes or reduce costs. And until the RWA market reaches a significant scale, they will stay away.
RWA: A Market Still Too Young to Convince
Are RWAs doomed? No, but their adoption will take time. Like bitcoin or stablecoins, institutions will only enter when value, adoption, and regulation are clear. Ross Shemeliak, co-founder of Stobox, reminds us of the enormous potential: 99.9% of global companies are private, and therefore eligible for tokenization. So what are they waiting for? Certainly a complete infrastructure similar to that of cryptos:
- Regulators;
- Fund managers;
- Regulated platforms.
Presented as a 30 trillion dollar opportunity by 2030 , tokenization of RWAs promises a financial revolution, according to Jesse Knutson, COO at Bitfinex Securities. Yet, according to Chris Yin, the real market caps at only 10 billion dollars. Under these conditions, this forecast is more wishful thinking than a credible short-term scenario.
The RWA bubble is not about to burst… because it doesn’t really exist yet. This segment of the crypto market remains embryonic, overrated, and largely ignored by institutions despite the emerging revolutions in the sector . Behind the optimistic storytelling, the reality is much more modest: without concrete adoption, RWAs remain a promise, not a revolution.
