Is the RWA Boom an Illusion? Experts React to Tokenization’s Liquidity Gap

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The tokenized real-world plus marketplace has reached much than $60 billion, but astir of that worth remains concentrated, restricted, oregon inactive on-chain.

BeInCrypto Intelligence's Real State of Tokenization successful 2026 report, built with marketplace information from RWA.xyz, tracked much than 7,000 products crossed 12 plus classes. It recovered that conscionable 62 assets clasp 88% of the marketplace value, portion 5 products relationship for astir half.

The enactment spread is adjacent sharper. Of 1,289 tokenized assets worthy much than $100,000, lone 910 assets representing $32.9 cardinal recorded zero play transfers.

Meanwhile, 97% of the marketplace remains extracurricular US retail access. BeInCrypto asked members of its Expert Council what these findings uncover astir the authorities of tokenization.

Archax: Institutions Should Not Have to Choose a Chain

Graham Rodford, CEO and Co-Founder of Archax, said blockchain fragmentation is making organization adoption harder than necessary.

"The fragmentation occupation is existent and it's not going away," Rodford said. "Every large plus manager we talk to is dealing with the aforesaid operational question: which concatenation bash I pick, and what happens erstwhile the adjacent 1 emerges? The honorable reply is that they shouldn't person to pick."

Rodford argues that institutions request a regulated furniture supra idiosyncratic networks. It would grip issuance, trading, custody, and colony without tying firms to a azygous blockchain.

He besides rejected the thought that nationalist blockchains are automatically unregulated.

"What determines regulatory information isn't the concatenation – it's the gateway."

Theo: Dormant Assets Show a Half-Built Market

Iggy Ioppe, CIO of Theo, said the $32.9 cardinal successful dormant worth does not beryllium tokenization has failed. Instead, it shows that overmuch of the marketplace has stopped astatine representation.

"Wrapping an plus and parking it is 'tokenization theater'. The existent enactment is making tokens usable - arsenic collateral, successful DeFi, successful unrecorded settlement."

The study distinguishes betwixt Distributed assets, which tin determination crossed nationalist blockchain rails, and Represented assets, which chiefly usage blockchain arsenic a integer record.

Around $27 cardinal of the dormant worth came from Represented assets. Many were designed for recordkeeping and organization colony alternatively than nationalist trading.

Still, Ioppe said the adjacent signifier volition beryllium connected whether tokenized assets tin move, gain yield, settee astir the clock, and link to wider fiscal infrastructure.

"The assets are on-chain; the adjacent signifier is making them work."