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RWA: Past, Present and Future

A course on tokenized real-world assets in twelve chapters: what a tokenized asset is, how the machine works, who builds it, where the market stands in 2026 and what comes next.

12 chapters · ~34 437 words · 36 figures · data as of 4–10 Sep 2026

A course in four levels. Foundations explain what a tokenized asset is and how we got here. How it works opens the machine: the legal wrapper, the admin keys, the data feeds and the chains. The market today covers the numbers, the players and the use in DeFi. What's next gives the verdicts, the scenarios and a checklist you can use on any product. Written for newcomers and for people who already use DeFi.

How to read. Read in order for the full course. In a hurry: chapter 1, chapter 7 (state of the market) and chapter 11 (what's next). Evaluating a product: chapter 12. Company profiles are linked from every chapter.

  1. Level 1 · Foundations
  2. 01

    What a tokenized real-world asset actually is

    A tokenized real-world asset, or RWA, is a token on a blockchain that gives its holder a legal claim on something that exists off the chain: a government bond, a bar of gold, a share in a fund.

    2 881 words · 14 min · 3 figures
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  3. 02

    A short history of tokenization, 2017 to 2026

    Tokenization has been tried four times since 2017, each time on a different kind of asset.

    2 630 words · 13 min · 2 figures
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  4. Level 2 · How it works
  5. 03

    Anatomy of a tokenized fund: the stack and what it costs

    A tokenized fund looks like one product with one fee, but it is eight separate jobs, each done by a different firm that wants to be paid.

    3 104 words · 16 min · 4 figures
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  6. 04

    Who holds the keys to a tokenized fund

    On an ordinary crypto token, whoever holds the private key controls the balance.

    3 799 words · 19 min · 4 figures
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  7. 05

    How a fund's price gets on-chain

    A tokenized fund trades on no exchange, so a lending market that accepts it as collateral needs someone to write its value into the chain.

    3 104 words · 16 min · 4 figures
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  8. 06

    Which blockchains RWAs live on, and why

    Tokenized assets sit on a dozen blockchains, and asking which chain wins mixes several different businesses together.

    2 577 words · 13 min · 3 figures
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  9. Level 3 · The market today
  10. 07

    Where RWA stands in September 2026

    In early September 2026 tokenized real-world assets that investors could actually hold in their own wallets were worth about 39 bn USD.

    2 544 words · 13 min · 3 figures
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  11. 08

    RWAs in DeFi: collateral, leverage and stablecoin reserves

    The promise of putting a Treasury fund on a blockchain is that other software can use it: lend against it, hold it as a reserve, loop it for extra yield. In September 2026 that promise is real but narrow.

    2 701 words · 14 min · 3 figures
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  12. 09

    Tokenized stocks and Robinhood Chain

    A tokenized stock is a token whose price follows a listed share, such as Nvidia or Apple, and which can be held in a crypto wallet and traded at any hour.

    2 668 words · 13 min · 3 figures
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  13. 10

    Who's who in RWA, layer by layer

    A tokenized fund is not one company's product. It is a chain of firms: a manager picks the assets, a platform issues the token and keeps the register, a custodian holds the underlying, an oracle reports the price, and…

    2 943 words · 15 min · 2 figures
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  14. Level 4 · What's next
  15. 11

    What works, what doesn't, and 2027 to 2030

    Tokenization has been sold as a way to put every asset on a blockchain. After nine years of attempts, a fair question is which parts of it actually work.

    2 792 words · 14 min · 3 figures
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  16. 12

    How to analyze any RWA in 30 minutes

    A new tokenized product arrives with a press release, a yield and a list of famous partners.

    2 694 words · 13 min · 3 figures
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