There are also stablecoins that we are familiar with, which are essentially a type of RWA: they map real-world dollars onto the blockchain, digitizing real assets. It can be said that RWA has become one of the hottest tracks in Web3 today.
So the question arises: with RWA being so popular, what does it have to do with us? What can an ordinary person or a regular company refer to?
A one-sentence explanation of what RWA is#
To understand RWA, it refers to the mapping of valuable assets in the real world, such as cash, bonds, stocks, and real estate, into tokens through blockchain technology, allowing them to circulate, be invested in, and be split on-chain.
These tokens represent the "value" or "yield rights" of the assets; holding them is equivalent to owning a portion of the asset's returns.
In simpler terms: putting real assets "on-chain" and giving them liquidity is RWA.
To deepen our understanding, let's look at three representative cases from abroad.
Three classic cases to understand RWA's gameplay#
BlackRock BUIDL (Short-term Treasury Token)
First, let's look at BlackRock. BUIDL is an on-chain treasury fund issued by the world's largest asset management firm, BlackRock, set to launch in March 2024.
The underlying assets are U.S. short-term treasuries, cash, and other low-risk assets, but the fund shares are issued on-chain in the form of ERC-20 tokens.
Each BUIDL token has a fixed face value of $1 and pays interest daily, equivalent to an "on-chain interest-bearing stablecoin."
Currently, the total scale has exceeded $2.9 billion, providing stable returns for investors and can also be used as collateral, marking a milestone project in treasury-type RWA.
Robinhood Stock Tokenization
Next, let's look at Robinhood. In June 2025, Robinhood launched U.S. stock token trading in Europe, supporting on-chain purchases of over 200 U.S. stocks and ETFs, such as Apple and Tesla.
These stock tokens support 24/5 trading, automatically distribute dividends, and can be self-custodied in wallets, resembling "on-chain trading of U.S. stocks."
However, it is important to note that it does not directly put stocks on-chain; instead, Robinhood has made a contractual commitment to anchor the token price to stock performance, more like synthetic assets.
Although the underlying is not the stocks themselves, it signifies that traditional financial companies are reshaping the securities investment experience using blockchain.
RealT Real Estate Tokenization
The third is RealT, a platform that tokenizes U.S. real estate assets, particularly in the Detroit area.
A house is divided into thousands of shares and sold through on-chain tokens. By holding these tokens, you own a portion of the property's rights and can receive rent proportionally, usually distributing dividends weekly.
You can enter the real estate market with just a few dozen dollars, and the transaction process is as simple as a transfer. Although it is only open to accredited investors, it significantly lowers the investment threshold for real estate, making it a typical application of physical RWA.
Next, let's look at some representative RWA projects in China:#
Langxin Technology: Bundled the revenue rights of over 9,000 charging piles on-chain, raising about 100 million yuan in Hong Kong;
Xiexin Energy Technology: Converted future power generation revenues from photovoltaic power stations into RWA, raising 200 million yuan overseas;
JD Technology: Exploring a dual-track approach of "stablecoin + physical assets," preparing to issue RWA for new energy assets and a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin;
Xunying Battery Swap: Put electric vehicle battery swap cabinets and battery revenues on-chain, achieving a complete mapping of "equipment + data + revenue";
Greenland Group: Plans to bundle existing real estate assets such as wellness apartments and hotels into RWA for trading in Hong Kong;
These projects all demonstrate the trend of digitizing physical assets.
Summarizing the commonalities of these cases#
Summarizing the commonalities of these cases, we can identify several key points:
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On-chain mapping of real assets: Whether it is treasury bonds, power stations, or houses, RWA moves real-world assets onto the chain, utilizing blockchain to achieve value circulation;
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Serving institutional financing needs: Currently, almost all are initiated by enterprises, with financing parties being large financial institutions or organizations, leaving few opportunities for ordinary users to participate;
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Assets are relatively stable, with low interest rates: The underlying assets are mostly stable cash flow categories, such as treasury bonds, charging piles, and power stations, with annualized returns mostly between 3%-7%;
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High compliance requirements: Most can only operate on licensed platforms or in regulatory sandboxes, with high thresholds and complex processes, making it difficult for retail investors to participate directly;
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Limited liquidity: The secondary market is not active, tokens cannot be freely sold, and many projects only circulate in private or closed markets.
How should we view RWA?#
Based on the above situation, how should we view RWA?
For general enterprises:
You may not be able to use RWA right now because it has high requirements for asset structure, compliance qualifications, and technical systems.
But you can think about:
Does your company have anything that can be split into digital assets?
Are there standardized, predictable revenue assets?
Do you have the ability to make assets transparent and data-driven?
These digital accumulations may become your "entry ticket" for financing in the future.
For ordinary people:
Currently, RWA is indeed quite distant from retail investors.
Most products are only open to institutions or high-net-worth individuals, and even if you can participate, the returns are not high, which is quite different from the "Web3 wealth opportunity" that everyone fantasizes about.
So what you should really do is: understand the trend and enhance your knowledge.
Clarify the logic and structure of RWA, know which assets may go on-chain in the future, familiarize yourself with platforms and data tools, and when this wave of opportunities truly opens up the retail market, you won't be the one who "doesn't understand."
Final summary:#
RWA is an attempt to make "traditional assets behave like crypto assets."
It makes assets more liquid and transparent, and it may change the paths of financing and investment in the future.
But it is not a wealth-making magic tool, nor is it a game that anyone can issue or invest in.
Rather than participating impulsively, it is better to understand in advance.
Rather than investing blindly, it is better to be a prepared observer.
Perhaps in a few years, when you see "photovoltaic revenue RWA products" appear in your mobile app, you will be glad:
Oh, I have already researched this.
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