The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by increasing interest from traditional financial institutions, asset managers, and fintech firms.
The market is expected to reach $10 trillion by 2030, according to Boston Consulting Group and other major analysts.
According to Annelise Osborne, chief business officer at Kadena, a public Layer-1 PoW blockchain platform, interest from institutions, asset managers, and SEC-registered investment advisors looking to integrate digital asset infrastructure, is rising.
That said, the next tipping point will be interoperability which means upgraded technology without seamless connections between infrastructure components, Osborne says in an interaction with Invezz.
Osborne also spoke about the launch of Kadena’s $50 million grant program to support innovations in Chainweb EVM, RWA tokenization, and AI-driven blockchain use cases.
“We’re particularly interested in projects that demonstrate institutional and retail demand – including payments, tokenized assets, and private credit instruments,” she said.
Excerpts:
What’s driving RWA adoption?
Invezz: We’ve seen tokenized real-world assets cross the $23 billion mark globally in 2025. What, in your view, are the key forces driving this sudden acceleration—and how sustainable is this growth?
The technology is groundbreaking in its ability to offer faster, cheaper and more secure transactions.
Tokenization is the next upgrade to finance and to quote Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, “Every asset – can be tokenized” which will be a “revolution” for investors.
I think adoption comes down to three main hurdles – 1. Regulation 2. Education and 3. Interoperability.
With respect to regulation, institutions are now paying attention as the regulators and policy makers are offering more regulatory clarity in the United States.
The GENIUS act is on its way to becoming law which will offer clear regulation to stablecoins in the US.
Stablecoins can offer immediate settlement without the no cross border fees or intermediaries.
Imagine the trillion dollars of float every night disappearing and that money being put to work right away.
It will increase the velocity of money. There are also bills being discussed that offer clarity on digital assets.
Education opens up companies to understand that blockchain isn’t hype – more a tech upgrade for finance that offers opportunities to both decrease costs and increase revenues.
Tokenized funds offer investors a lower minimum investment alternative due to the back office cost savings.
There are fewer public companies today and greater demand to invest in private companies. Blockchain can make private investment opportunities more accessible.
On institutional scaling of RWA adoption and interoperability
With respect to interoperability, the growth will be exponential once the infrastructure is in place. Interoperability is between the new technology and antiquated tech systems within institutions.
It also refers to interoperability within the blockchain ecosystem.
That said, tomorrow no one will be talking about financial instruments being on blockchain because it will be the backbone of a more efficient financial system.
Invezz: Do you think institutional capital is finally ready to scale RWA adoption, or are we still in a validation phase? What tipping points do you anticipate next?
Institutional capital is on the way to scale real world asset tokenization. Adoption is a process. Regulation guardrails are being formed.
Institutions need legal black and white rules. They can’t play in the grey.
We’re seeing strong interest from institutions, asset managers and SEC-registered investment advisors looking to integrate digital asset infrastructure.
The next tipping point will be interoperability meaning upgraded technology without seamless connections between infrastructure components.
The year 2025 is the year of innovation.
On Chainweb EVM Testnet launch
Invezz: Coming to the Chainweb EVM Testnet launch that will be announced at the main stage of EthCC, how Kadena plans to attract EVM-native devs and Dapps and scale secure, compliant DeFi/RWA use cases?
Our $50 million grant program is specifically designed to attract builders who understand that the best Layer 2 is actually a scalable Layer 1.
We’re particularly interested in projects that demonstrate institutional and retail demand – including payments, tokenized assets, and private credit instruments.
For EVM developers, they can use familiar tools while getting the security and scalability they can’t get elsewhere.
We welcome innovative solutions because I’m a huge believer that TradFi and DeFi will merge, and Kadena has the right tools and pedigree to finance faster, cheaper and more secure
Invezz: Despite its technical advantages, Kadena has lower visibility than many L1s. What is the strategy to raise awareness and adoption?
Kadena is focused on building out our community, developers and applications or asset issuers.
Historically, we had been focused on innovation and building fundamental infrastructure rather than chasing market trends.
The strategy is proving our technology can handle real-world, high-value applications at scale through our grant program and partnerships.
We’re bridging TradFi and DeFi with institutional-grade projects.
Now with the increased adoption and regulation of crypto, blockchain and digital assets in 2025, Kadena is partnering with real use cases, institutions, regulators and the defi ecosystem to build the next generation of finance.
On fractionalised tokenisation of assets and 2025 milestones
Invezz: Fractionalized tokenization of assets like private credit, real estate, or fine art is gaining traction. How do you see Kadena lowering the barrier for everyday investors to participate in these markets securely?
Tokenizing funds or investments has opened up access to invest in real estate, art, songs, private credit, and venture capital.
The lower cost lift of the fund allows lower minimum investments.
Our RWA token standard draws on the widely recognized ERC-3643 T-REX protocol and integrates ONCHAINID, enabling compliance features directly within token contracts – KYC/AML verification, investor accreditation checks, jurisdiction-specific restrictions.
This area will continue to grow because we’re solving real accessibility problems while maintaining compliance.
Invezz: Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, how do you define success for Kadena in the evolving RWA space? What metrics or milestones are top-of-mind for you?
Success means becoming the institutional-grade bridge between TradFi and DeFi.
We’re targeting the development and launch of multiple, compliant, institutional-grade RWA projects within a year through our grant program.
Kadena offers a scalable multi-chain environment with parallel execution for both our PACT smart contract language and EVM chains.
We have institutional grade compliance and privacy as well as defi applications.
There are so many innovations and ecosystem partners rolling out in the next 6 months. Stay tuned!
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