Real-world assets (RWAs) are crypto tokens that represent physical assets in the real world. These assets can include stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, and machinery. RWAs bring these assets into the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) space, making them more accessible and opening up new opportunities.
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Understanding RWAs
RWAs represent valuable assets that everyone recognizes. Their value and ownership are accepted worldwide, making them suitable for transactions, investments, and other financial activities.
Bringing recognized assets onto the blockchain using RWAs is a significant innovation that is a central narrative in the 2024-2026 crypto season.
Tokenization enables these assets to exist as tokens on a blockchain, facilitating easy online transactions for buying, selling, or trading them. This blend of traditional assets with digital technology aims to improve liquidity, accessibility, and transparency for buyers and asset owners.
Why RWA tokens are significant
Traditional assets represent a significant portion of global financial value, and investing in them often requires a lot of money upfront. While available in various amounts, bonds typically require a substantial investment, keeping many people out of the market. Restrictions based on country laws can further limit access to these assets, often leaving only wealthy individuals able to invest.
Crypto RWA tokens make it easier for people to invest by allowing fractional ownership. This means you can buy tokens representing parts of assets. This access opens doors for many who might have found these markets too expensive.
Blockchain technology removes geographic and regulatory barriers. It allows people worldwide to invest in assets that may have been out of reach due to regional restrictions.
Ultimately, tokenization enables a broader range of people to participate in an inclusive asset ownership landscape. RWAs connect traditional finance with new digital opportunities, creating a fairer market for everyone.
xStocks and ONDO tokenized offerings
RWAs are built by major on-chain issuers. Depending on what’s available on your chosen network, Tangem Wallet supports tokenized gold and stocks through established providers such as Ondo’s tokenized offerings, Ethereum-based tokenized stock formats, xStocks-style representations, and issuer-backed assets like Tether’s commodity tokens.
In simple terms, this means you’re not buying shares through a traditional brokerage or storing metals in a vault yourself. However, you can still access price-linked exposure and hold it directly in your self-custody wallet, with the ability to swap from stablecoins in minutes and manage everything alongside your crypto portfolio.
Top 10 RWA coins by market cap
Real World Asset (RWA) tokens bridge the gap between traditional finance and blockchain technology by tokenizing physical assets. Below is a list of the top 10 RWA tokens by market capitalization:
GOLD (Gold)
Gold is one of the clearest examples of a real-world asset that makes sense to tokenize because it already functions as a global, universally understood store of value. People hold gold for protection against inflation, currency devaluation, and geopolitical instability, and it has remained relevant across centuries of economic cycles.
In Tangem Wallet, users can access gold exposure through tokenized gold assets that live on blockchain networks and can be stored and managed just like any other token. With stablecoins such as USDT or USDC inside, you can swap directly into tokenized gold using the swap functionality.
The bull case for gold tends to strengthen during periods of high inflation, which erodes confidence in fiat currencies, increases global debt, and heightens geopolitical risk. This is precisely why many investors view it as long-term insurance rather than a short-term trade.
Tokenization doesn’t replace real gold, but it does make gold usable in a modern digital portfolio alongside crypto, stablecoins, and other on-chain assets.
NVIDIA (NVDAX)
Nvidia is one of the most discussed and demanded equities in global markets because it has become central to the AI infrastructure boom. Nvidia’s hardware powers data centers, AI model training, machine learning systems, and high-performance compute, which has positioned the company as a core beneficiary of long-term AI adoption.
Tokenized exposure to Nvidia matters because it enables market demand for NVDA to be expressed in on-chain environments where traditional brokerage access is not available or inconvenient.
In Tangem, users can hold tokenized representations of Nvidia exposure where such assets are available on supported chains. You can open the swap function, and exchange stablecoins for the tokenized Nvidia asset directly inside Tangem Wallet without needing to route funds through multiple centralized services.
Nvidia’s bull case remains straightforward and extreme because the world is moving toward compute-intensive AI systems, and the demand for accelerated computing is not a temporary trend but a structural shift in how software and infrastructure are built. Even if AI narratives cool temporarily in the market, the long-term need for GPUs and data center expansion supports the thesis that Nvidia remains central to the next generation of technology.
Silver (SILVER)
Silver is often viewed as gold’s counterpart, but it has an additional advantage because it is both a monetary metal and an industrial one. That makes silver particularly relevant in a world where energy transition, manufacturing demand, and electronics growth continue to increase. Tokenized silver exposure is attractive because it brings a commodity asset with global pricing into blockchain markets, enabling individuals to hold silver exposure in a crypto-native format while maintaining full self-custody.
The bull case for silver tends to emerge when both monetary demand and industrial demand increase simultaneously, such as during inflationary periods accompanied by strong manufacturing or solar energy expansion. Some investors also argue that silver has historically lagged behind gold at times and can catch up aggressively during precious metals bull cycles, making it an attractive higher-volatility alternative to gold with additional industrial upside.
Alphabet (GOOGLX)
Alphabet is one of the most important technology companies in the world, with dominant positions in search, advertising, YouTube, Android, and cloud computing. It is highly liquid, globally recognized, and represents a foundational part of modern digital infrastructure. Tokenized exposure to Alphabet can bring the value of a major public equity into blockchain environments where users want exposure without relying exclusively on brokerages or traditional market hours.
Alphabet’s bull case is built around scale and defensibility, as its advertising moat remains strong and its assets, such as YouTube and Google Cloud, provide multiple long-term growth engines. The AI angle further strengthens the bull thesis, as Alphabet is deeply embedded in AI research and has the potential to integrate AI into its core search and ad products in ways that enhance monetization rather than weaken it.
Apple (AAPLX)
Apple is one of the most highly regarded and recognized stocks globally, as it combines brand power, ecosystem lock-in, and consistent cash flow generation. Apple’s relevance as an RWA in tokenized finance is simple: it is widely demanded, widely understood, and already treated as a core holding by long-term investors.
You can fund Tangem Wallet with USDT or USDC and swap directly into tokenized Apple exposure within minutes. Apple’s bull case remains durable because its installed base continues to expand, services revenue becomes increasingly essential, and the ecosystem effect keeps users locked into Apple products over the long term. Even when hardware cycles slow, Apple’s ability to monetize services and maintain premium pricing power supports the thesis that it remains one of the strongest long-term compounding businesses in the global market.
Microsoft (MSFTON)
Microsoft is one of the most institutional-grade equities in existence because it sits at the center of global business infrastructure. It controls operating systems, productivity software, enterprise cloud services, and developer tooling, and it is also one of the leading beneficiaries of AI adoption through enterprise AI integration.
Tokenized exposure to Microsoft matters because it brings one of the market’s most stable, cash-generative technology businesses into the on-chain environment where users can treat it like a programmable asset.
Microsoft’s bull case is extremely strong because enterprise software is sticky, cloud computing continues expanding, and AI integration into productivity tools can create higher-value subscription models and deeper customer lock-in.
Amazon (AMZNON)
Amazon dominates e-commerce logistics at scale, operates one of the largest cloud computing platforms in the world through AWS, and has a rapidly growing advertising business. Amazon tokenization matters because it gives users a way to access exposure to multiple compounding business engines in a format that can be held self-custodied on-chain.
Amazon’s bull case is built on the idea that AWS continues to benefit from cloud expansion and AI compute demand, its advertising business becomes an increasingly high-margin revenue engine, and its e-commerce scale provides an almost unmatched competitive advantage in global retail infrastructure.
TSMC (TSMON)
TSMC manufactures semiconductors for many of the world's most prominent technology companies, including Apple and Nvidia. Semiconductors are foundational to everything from smartphones and computers to AI systems, data centers, and industrial automation. Tokenized exposure to TSMC provides users with on-chain access to one of the most significant infrastructure players in the technology supply chain.
TSMC’s bull case is deeply structural because the world is moving toward increasingly chip-intensive systems, AI growth demands more advanced semiconductor manufacturing, and the most valuable technology companies depend on TSMC’s ability to keep leading at the cutting edge. Investors who are bullish on the digital economy often see TSMC as one of the most durable long-term winners because its role is challenging to replace and central to global innovation.
Meta (METAX)
Meta is a major technology company with an enormous global user network across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Its bull case rests on the company’s ability to monetize attention at scale, improve ad targeting through AI, and expand the revenue potential of WhatsApp and other under-monetized properties. Many investors view Meta as possessing a powerful combination of cash flow and long-term optionality, as it continues to dominate global social engagement while also investing aggressively in AI-driven product enhancements.
Which other real world assets can be tokenized?
Real-world assets are quickly becoming a vital part of the crypto world. Here are some main uses for RWAs:
Bonds: RWA tokens let investors earn money from bond investments. Government bonds, such as US Treasury bills, back these tokens.
Real estate: Tokenized real estate allows people to invest in a portion of a property and earn rental income, making real estate investment more accessible to everyone.
Commodities: Tokenizing fine art allows people to own a fraction of a painting or sculpture and make money from it. This makes art investing easier for those who can't afford to buy an entire piece.
Equipment and machinery: Companies are considering tokenizing industrial equipment and machinery. This would allow for shared ownership and usage rights, helping to use these assets better.
How real-world assets are tokenized
Tokenization is turning real-world assets into digital tokens on the blockchain. Tokenizing a real-world asset involves several important steps:
Asset selection: The real-world asset is selected based on market sentiment, demand, or regulatory conditions.
Token standard and type: The token type—fungible (like currency) or non-fungible (like unique items)—and the token standard to use, such as ERC20, are chosen.
Blockchain selection: A public or private blockchain network can be used to issue the tokens.
Sync off-chain data: Most tokenized assets need reliable off-chain data from secure oracles. A service like a certified Proof of Reserve (PoR) verifies the assets backing the tokens, helping build trust with investors.
Token issuance: The smart contracts are deployed on the chosen network, and the tokens are minted and made available for use.
Benefits of tokenizing real-world assets
Tokenized assets offer improved liquidity, greater access, transparent on-chain management, and lower transactional friction than traditional assets.
For financial assets, tokenization streamlines distribution, trading, clearing, settlement, and safekeeping into one layer, reducing counterparty risk and enabling more efficient capital mobilization.
Challenges in tokenizing real-world assets
Tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) brings many advantages, but it also comes with some challenges. Different regulations in each jurisdiction can be tricky, so it's important to follow local laws carefully. Plus, since digital assets can be vulnerable to fraud and hacking, having strong custody solutions and security measures is really crucial to keep everything safe.
FAQ: RWA in Web3
What are real-world assets (RWA)?
Real World Assets (RWAs) are physical or financial assets, like real estate, commodities, and bonds, that are tokenized on the blockchain. This allows for greater liquidity, fractional ownership, and global accessibility.
What is RWA in Web3?
RWA in Web3 refers to the tokenization of real-world assets on blockchain networks, enabling decentralized ownership, trading, and management. This bridges traditional finance with decentralized finance (DeFi).
What do real-world assets mean in the context of crypto real estate?
Real-world assets in crypto real estate refer to properties that have been tokenized on the blockchain, enabling fractional ownership and on-chain transactions. Projects like Propy and RealT facilitate real estate investment through blockchain technology.
Which crypto is backed by BlackRock?
BlackRock backs BUIDL, a tokenized money market fund launched on Ethereum in partnership with Securitize. It offers a stable yield through U.S. Treasury bonds.
What is Ondo Crypto?
Ondo Finance (ONDO) is a blockchain-based platform that tokenizes real-world financial assets like U.S. Treasury bonds and corporate debt, offering regulated on-chain investment opportunities.
This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Investing in Web3 and cryptocurrencies involves risks. It is essential to conduct your own research before engaging with any Web3 apps or cryptocurrencies.
Tangem AG provides only hardware wallets and non-custodial software solutions for managing digital assets. Tangem is not regulated as a financial services provider or cryptocurrency exchange. Tangem does not hold, custody, or control users’ assets or transactions. Crypto transaction services are provided by third-party providers. Tangem provides no advice or recommendation on the use of these third-party services.
Staking and yield generation services are provided by third-party blockchain protocols and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. Tangem provides non-custodial access only. Earnings from staking are not guaranteed, may fluctuate significantly, and depend entirely on network or protocol conditions. Users participate at their own risk.
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