Tokenized assets hit $21B, but are new chains starting to matter?

The category is scaling fast, with old and new entrants showing power.

Written by Samyukhtha L KM

Reviewed by Jibin Mathew George

Updated 01:00 EST January 23, 2026

Tokenized assets hit $21B, but are new chains starting to matter?

Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) have gained great ground, with their total value locked (TVL) now crossing $21 billion. While Ethereum [ETH] hosts the bulk of these assets, relatively smaller networks like Arbitrum [ARB] have attracted eyeballs too.

Beyond niche status

According to the latest data, US Treasury debt dominates the $21 billion tokenized RWAs TVL, accounting for over $9 billion. It’s followed by commodities at around $3.7 billion and private credit at roughly $2.5 billion.

Corporate bonds and institutional funds also made up a growing share, while real estate and private equity were smaller but present.

Beyond current numbers, McKinsey has estimated that tokenized assets could reach $2-4 trillion by 2030. Furthermore, Boston Consulting Group has forecasted a much larger $16 trillion market.

There’s definitely more room for expansion.

Ethereum is the place to be

While the RWA market is still relatively small, most tokenized assets today are on Ethereum. According to Token Terminal, the network hosts close to $200 billion worth of tokenized value across stablecoins, tokenized funds, commodities, and stocks.

As it stands, stablecoins make up the largest share by a wide margin – Far outweighing other categories.

The numbers make Ethereum’s early lead in tokenization infrastructure obvious. Liquidity, a mature ecosystem, and developer support have helped it become the preferred choice for RWAs so far.

But, will this dominance last?

New RWA demand may be forming elsewhere…

Spiko’s tokenized products (EUTBL and USTBL) have crossed $273 million in TVL on Arbitrum, making it the most adopted chain for these funds. There’s been a gradual rise over time, with Arbitrum pulling ahead of other supported networks.

Arbitrum’s promise of predictable fees, liquidity, and a flexible design matter greatly to institutions experimenting with tokenized products. Keeping that in mind, it would be natural for RWA adoption to spread to networks apart from Ethereum over time.