On January 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14178, launching a federal working group focused on digital assets. By July 30, the group published its findings in a 166-page report. The word “tokenized” appeared over 60 times — a clear signal that the U.S. government is embracing the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs).
This is no small move. The report projects that the market for tokenized RWAs could grow 25x from today’s $600 billion to over $15 trillion. That includes assets like tokenized dollars, gold, commodities, stocks, and even real estate — all supported by improved infrastructure and updated regulation.
Players like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Circle are already leading the charge. But what about smaller startups? How can they compete?
Distribution: How to Get Your Tokenized RWAs into the Market
- Partner With Platforms That Already Have Users: One of the most effective ways to distribute your tokenized RWAs is to partner with platforms that already serve millions of users. A perfect example is Circle, which grew USDC by partnering with Coinbase. Coinbase made it easy for its users to buy and redeem USDC, giving Circle instant reach. PayPal did something similar. When it launched PYUSD, it had the advantage of PayPal’s existing payments network. Millions of users suddenly had access to a stablecoin – embedded in a tool they already used.
- Partner with Custodians That Hold the Underlying Assets: Many RWAs need custodians, trusted entities that physically or legally hold the underlying asset, like gold or securities. If your startup can build a strong partnership with a leading custodian in a specific asset class, that gives you a competitive edge.
- Leverage DeFi Protocols and New Layer-1 Blockchains: Many new chains are looking for stablecoins or real-world asset tokens to complete their ecosystems. If your token becomes one of the first RWAs on a new chain, you can dominate early use cases like liquidity pools, lending protocols, or staking rewards.
Distinction: Stand Out in a Growing Tokenized RWA Market
- Offer Something Unique: If you’re just launching another tokenized gold product or dollar stablecoin, you’ll face tough competition. Instead, aim to offer something the market hasn’t seen yet. For example, Ethena created a tokenized, delta-neutral ETH yield strategy. It wasn’t just another stablecoin – it was a product with a unique strategy and real yield. This helped them grow to billions in assets under management.
- Make It Yield-Bearing: Investors like assets that generate income. If your RWA can offer yield, you’ll likely see stronger demand.
- Keep It Simple (Enough): Yes, creativity is great. But overcomplicated products often fail. If users can’t understand how your token works – or if it’s hard to audit or explain – it may not find demand with a large client base. Stick to concepts that are easy to explain and familiar to investors. Many of the most successful tokenized RWAs are simple, trusted instruments: tokenized dollars, tokenized gold, or tokenized stocks.
Disclosure: Build Trust Through Transparency
- Trusted Custody: Most tokenized RWAs depend on a third-party custodian to hold the actual asset – whether that’s gold, securities, or real estate. Startups must work with licensed, reliable custodians – especially if they want to build credibility with institutional users. The clearer your relationship with the custodian, the easier it is to explain what your token really represents.
- Audited Smart Contracts: Security matters. All tokenized RWA smart contracts should be audited by reputable firms. You should also publish your code, make audits public, and explain how the system works.
- Crisis Management: If something does go wrong, be transparent about the issue and how you’ll fix it. The Bybit hack was a great example of this: despite a major loss, their honest and fast response actually increased trust with users.
- On-Chain Proof of Reserves (PoR): Take it a step further: publish your reserve data on-chain using Oracle networks like Chainlink. This gives users live, verifiable proof that your token is backed. You can even connect this data directly to your smart contracts – so minting is only allowed if reserves are available.
https://www.thenetworkfirm.com/blog/how-startups-can-win-in-the-tokenized-rwa-boom
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