What are RWA tokens? Top 9 successful RWA projects in 2024

Blockchain technology found its way to connect digital assets and the physical world: Real World Assets (RWA) tokens. RWA tokens are a revolutionary concept that brings tangible, real-world assets onto the blockchain, offering a blend of stability and growth potential. This blog will equip you with knowledge of RWA tokens and the top 10 RWA projects in 2024.

What are RWA tokens?

Real World Asset (RWA) tokens are digital representations of physical assets on the blockchain. These assets can range from real estate, commodities, and art to financial instruments like bonds and stocks. The tokenization of real-world assets involves converting the value of these assets into a digital token, which can then be divisible and easily tradable.

RWA tokens are part of the broader trend of asset tokenization in the crypto space, creating opportunities for investors to diversify their portfolios and hedge against market fluctuations.

Benefits of RWA

RWA tokens offer numerous benefits that make them an attractive option for both investors and asset holders:

Increased trading volume: Traditional assets like real estate or fine art often suffer from low transaction volume due to the difficulty of buying, selling, or trading them quickly. Tokenizing these assets allows them to be broken down into smaller, tradable units, helping exchange easily.

Global accessibility: RWA tokens can be traded globally, breaking down geographical barriers and opening up new markets for asset owners. Anyone with an internet connection can access the RWA token once it is minted, which contrasts with traditional assets.

Transparency and security: Blockchain technology ensures that all transactions are transparent and immutable, reducing the risk of fraud and enhancing trust. This increases trust for investors due to the ability to verify the ownership and transaction history of assets.

Diversification: Investors can diversify their portfolios and gain exposure to a wider range of asset classes by tokenizing traditional financial instruments.

Innovation: Smart contracts can automate a wide range of RWA management functions, while NFTs can provide undisputable proof of ownership.

🔎  Read more about the process of asset tokenization

Top 9 RWA crypto projects in 2024

Several projects have emerged as leaders in the RWA space, each offering unique solutions and innovations. Here are the top 9 RWA projects to watch in 2024:

Ethena

Ethena is a platform that offers a stablecoin fully backed by a diversified portfolio of real-world assets and not reliant on traditional banking system infrastructure. This provides a stable digital currency alternative for transactions and investments.

The platform operates on a decentralized protocol, ensuring that no single entity has control over the stablecoin issuance and management process. Moreover, Ethena stablecoins can be utilized in various DeFi applications, including lending, borrowing, and liquidity provision, allowing users to maximize the utility of their stablecoins and participate in the growing DeFi ecosystem. Users can deposit various assets as collateral to mint stablecoins, and the platform continuously monitors and adjusts collateral ratios to maintain stability.

RWA: Internet bonds.

Where to buy: Available on major cryptocurrency exchanges and Ethena’s platform.

Ondo Finance

Ondo Finance specializes in tokenizing fixed-income assets, providing a bridge between traditional finance and the crypto world.

Ondo offers a range of vault strategies that allow investors to deposit assets and earn yield through various DeFi protocols and strategies. These strategies are managed by Ondo to optimize returns and manage risks effectively. The platform utilizes a tokenized fund model, where investors can gain exposure to different assets and strategies through tokenized representations. This model enhances liquidity and accessibility, allowing for easier entry and exit from investment positions.

RWA: Bonds and other fixed-income instruments.

Where to buy: Ondo Finance platform.

MANTRA

MANTRA is a Security First RWA Layer 1 Blockchain, capable of adherence to real-world regulatory requirements, tokenizing precious metals like gold and silver and providing a stable store of value for crypto investors. The platform provides a robust environment for decentralized finance applications and aims to facilitate the integration of RWAs into the blockchain ecosystem.
Built using the Cosmos SDK, Mantra supports Inter-blockchain communication, enabling seamless interoperability with other blockchains. This enhances the platform’s versatility and ensures efficient cross-chain operations. Mantra can handle up to 10,000 transactions per second, making it suitable for enterprise-level applications and high-frequency trading.

RWA: Precious metals

Where to buy: Mantra’s official website and selected exchanges

💡 Explore how our customer leverage blockchain technology to tokenize Real Gold into rwa tokens

Pendle

Pendle focuses on tokenizing financial derivatives, offering new ways to trade and invest in these complex instruments. It is cross-chain compatible and supports various blockchains such as Ethereum, Arbitrum, BNB Chain, and Optimism, broadening its user base and liquidity pools. The platform is also well-regarded within the crypto community, with multiple security audits and a strong presence on social media channels.

Pendle brings stability and flexibility to yield farming by allowing users to separate and trade the principal and yield components of their assets. Users can hedge their yield exposure or bet on yield fluctuations. By enabling the trading of yield and principal separately, Pendle enhances the liquidity of yield-bearing assets. With flexible yield options: Users can choose between locking in fixed yields or speculating on variable yields.

RWA: Financial derivatives

Where to buy: Pendle platform and partnered exchanges

OriginTrail

OriginTrail is a pioneering platform that utilizes blockchain technology to create a decentralized knowledge graph (DKG). It supports several blockchains, ensuring decentralized consensus and trusted computation. The platform is currently deployed on Ethereum, Gnosis Chain, Polygon, and NeuroWeb. It also allows seamless integration of assets from different blockchains, extending them with asset graphs and smart contract-based applications such as data marketplaces.

RWA: From agricultural products to manufacturing goods.

Where to buy: OriginTrail’s platform

Maple Finance

Maple Finance tokenizes corporate debt, providing new financing options for businesses and investment opportunities for individuals. It operates various lending pools tailored to institutional investors, such as credit funds, corporate treasuries, and high-net-worth individuals.

Maple collaborates with a network of partners to enhance the customer experience, streamline operations and ensure the security and efficiency of financial transactions. This includes secure wallet providers like Coinbase Prime and Metamask Institutional, accounting and tax service providers like Bitwave, and qualified custodians such as BitGo.

The platform aims to extend the advantages of blockchain technology to global capital markets, making institutional credit markets more accessible and transparent. For example, they launched innovative products like Maple Cash Management for stable income opportunities and developed a broader range of on-chain financial products.

RWA: Loans and credit instruments.

Where to buy: Maple Finance platform

Lofty

Lofty is a fractional real estate investment platform that allows users to invest in rental properties with minimal financial barriers. The platform provides access to properties across the United States, enabling users to purchase fractional ownership and receive daily rental income.

Investors start receiving rental income the same day they invest, with daily payouts thereafter. Moreover, they can reinvest their rental income or sell their holdings at any time, offering flexibility and control over their investments. Properties are managed by professional managers, reducing the workload for investors while still allowing them to vote on key property decisions. Besides, Lofty provides access to a community of wealth builders and detailed property analysis to help investors make informed decisions.

RWA: Real estate

Where to buy: LTO Network platform

Backed Finance

Backed Finance converts traditional financial assets such as equities, bonds, and commodities into blockchain-based tokens. These tokens are fully backed by the underlying assets, ensuring they hold intrinsic value. This process allows for greater liquidity and accessibility of these assets within the DeFi ecosystem, making it easier for a wider range of investors to participate in financial markets.

Backed Finance utilizes smart contracts to automate the management and transfer of tokenized assets, ensuring transparency, efficiency, and security. Smart contracts also facilitate the integration of these assets into various DeFi protocols, enabling innovative financial products and services. Moreover, Backed Finance makes high-value assets accessible to retail investors by allowing fractional ownership, which was previously only available to institutional investors.

RWA: Stocks, bonds, and ETFs.

Where to buy: Backed Finance platform

Centrifuge

Centrifuge is a decentralized asset financing protocol that connects RWAs to decentralized finance. The platform includes Tinlake, a decentralized application (dApp) for asset-backed lending, and Centrifuge Chain, a blockchain that integrates with Ethereum.

Centrifuge provides liquidity to DeFi through tokenized RWAs. Investors can diversify their portfolios with low-volatility assets, offering stable returns. Since Centrifuge operates on a fully decentralized protocol with open governance, it ensures transparency and security through smart contracts and blockchain technology.

RWA: Invoices, real estate, and trade receivables

Where to buy: Centrifuge’s platform and selected DeFi exchanges.

Closing thoughts

RWA tokens represent a significant innovation in the crypto space, blending the stability of real-world assets with the benefits of blockchain technology. As the market evolves, the projects highlighted in this blog are leading the way in making real-world assets more accessible and liquid.

If you have an idea for tokenizing traditional assets and want to explore innovative solutions, contact Ekotek today. Our team of experts is ready to help you navigate the complexities of asset tokenization and bring your project to life.