RWA Tokenization Coins: Which Projects Are Leading the Digital Asset Revolution in 2024?

Real-world asset tokenization has become one of crypto’s most compelling trends, with the market already exceeding $8.4 billion in total value as of March 2024. The arrival of BlackRock’s BUIDL fund on Ethereum marked a watershed moment for the industry, signaling that institutional capital sees genuine potential in bringing traditional assets on-chain. But what makes this shift so transformative, and which platforms are positioning themselves at the forefront of this movement?

Why RWA Tokenization Matters: Breaking Down the Opportunity

The core appeal is straightforward—tokenization coins unlock new possibilities for both investors and asset issuers. By converting real-world assets into blockchain-based digital tokens, several game-changing benefits emerge:

Fractional Ownership & Liquidity: Previously illiquid assets like real estate, commodities, and bonds become accessible to smaller investors. You don’t need millions to own a piece of premium assets anymore.

Global Market Access: Geographic barriers dissolve. An investor in Southeast Asia can now access US Treasury bills through tokenized products, just as easily as someone in New York.

DeFi Integration: Tokenized assets become collateral, yield sources, and hedging tools within decentralized finance. MakerDAO’s recent expansion shows how institutional borrowers are already leveraging this—RWAs now comprise nearly 30% of the protocol’s balance sheet, with over $2.06 billion in real-world asset exposure.

Transparency & Settlement Speed: Blockchain’s immutability eliminates settlement delays and enhances auditability. What typically took days now settles in minutes.

The Leading Players in RWA Tokenization Coins

Ondo (ONDO) - The Blueprint for Treasury Tokenization

Ondo Finance stands as the pioneer in bringing traditional assets into DeFi. Its flagship product OUSG represents the world’s first tokenized US Treasuries offering, and the protocol’s recent move to integrate BlackRock’s BUIDL fund demonstrates institutional-level confidence.

The strategic shift is significant: Ondo plans to migrate $95 million in assets to BUIDL for instant settlements. This integration makes OUSG substantially more functional as collateral and a store-of-value across the crypto ecosystem. It’s the first instance of a crypto protocol leveraging an asset management giant’s tokenized infrastructure.

Beyond Treasury tokens, Ondo Global Markets (Ondo GM) is expanding into securities tokenization through a broker-dealer model, representing a major leap toward bringing equity and fixed-income products on-chain.

Governance: ONDO token holders direct protocol development through a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), maintaining community control over the platform’s evolution.

Mantra (OM) - Scaling RWAs for Emerging Markets

Mantra positions itself differently—as the infrastructure layer for RWA tokenization across developing economies. The Layer 1 blockchain secured $11 million in funding from Shorooq Partners, targeting Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Current Data: OM trades at $0.08 with a 24-hour change of +0.82%, commanding a $90.22M market cap and processing $465K in daily volume.

What distinguishes Mantra is its regulatory-first approach. Rather than building protocols and hoping compliance follows, Mantra develops infrastructure explicitly designed for regulated tokenization. This appeals to institutions uncomfortable with gray-area DeFi.

The OM token serves dual purposes: staking for passive yield generation and participation in governance decisions across the ecosystem. For investors seeking exposure to RWA infrastructure rather than specific applications, Mantra offers directional leverage.

Polymesh (POLYX) - Purpose-Built for Securities

Polymesh took a different architectural path—it’s a permissioned Layer 1 specifically engineered for securities token issuance. Rather than bolting compliance onto a general-purpose blockchain, Polymesh baked it in from day one.

The platform handles the unique challenges inherent to security tokens: identity verification, compliance rules, confidentiality, and settlement protocols. Its governance model balances private network security with public chain transparency.

Current Data: POLYX trades at $0.06 with a -0.83% 24-hour decline and a $72.08M market cap. Daily volume sits at $127.04K, reflecting its focus on institutional rather than retail trading.

POLYX’s tokenomics employ an asymptotic supply model—new token emissions follow a predefined schedule designed to incentivize participation while preventing runaway inflation. This appeals to long-term holders concerned about dilution.

OriginTrail (TRAC) - The Supply Chain Trust Layer

While other projects focus purely on financial assets, OriginTrail extends tokenization into supply chains through its Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG). The platform enables creation of AI-ready Knowledge Assets, making it crucial for industries from pharmaceuticals to fashion that require verifiable provenance.

Current Data: TRAC trades at $0.43 with a -1.27% 24-hour decline. The project maintains a fixed supply of 500 million tokens, with 447.27 million in circulation and $193.71M market cap. Daily volume: $39.97K.

The TRAC token powers all DKG operations—publishing assets, securing validator positions, and enabling staking. Its multichain deployment ensures accessibility across multiple blockchain ecosystems, enhancing its utility beyond Ethereum.

Pendle (PENDLE) - Advanced Yield Tokenization

Pendle introduced a novel concept: separating yield-bearing assets into Principal Tokens (PT) and Yield Tokens (YT). This allows investors to speculate on yield movements separately from principal, creating hedging and optimization strategies previously impossible in DeFi.

Recent expansion into RWAs—integrating tokenized MakerDAO savings products and Treasury bonds—signals Pendle’s evolution from pure DeFi primitive to institutional yield infrastructure.

Current Data: PENDLE trades at $2.18 with a -1.22% 24-hour change and a $368.60M market cap. Trading volume reaches $272.36K daily.

For institutional investors, Pendle’s RWA integration is significant. It provides exposure to Treasury bonds’ yield without leaving the blockchain ecosystem, combining traditional asset stability with DeFi composability.

TokenFi (TOKEN) - Democratizing RWA Creation

TokenFi targets the retail end of the RWA spectrum. Its no-code token launcher makes it feasible for non-technical users to create and deploy ERC-20/BEP-20 tokens representing real assets. The platform projects the RWA market reaching $16 trillion by 2030—a massive addressable opportunity.

Current Data: TOKEN trades at $0.01 with a significant -9.80% 24-hour decline and $19.29M market cap. Despite the dip, daily volume sits at $1.01M, indicating active trading interest.

The TOKEN token powers AI-driven smart contract audits, NFT generation, and streamlined token launches. For creators seeking quick entry into RWA markets, TokenFi removes friction.

Beyond Token Protocols: Infrastructure Players

Securitize and Swarm Markets (SMT) represent the compliance layer. Securitize manages digital securities end-to-end—issuance, investor relations, and regulatory reporting. Its integration with BlackRock—including Joseph Chalom’s appointment to Securitize’s board—accelerates adoption among traditional institutions.

Swarm Markets (SMT) maintains $5.4 million in total value locked (TVL) as of March 2024, focusing on bridging traditional finance and DeFi through compliant RWA tokenization.

Untangled Finance specializes in private credit tokenization on the Celo network, having raised $13.5 million in October 2023 to expand private debt accessibility.

The Macro Picture: Where This Is Headed

The convergence of institutional money (BlackRock, major custodians) with decentralized infrastructure creates a virtuous cycle. As more RWAs tokenize, DeFi becomes more relevant to traditional finance. As DeFi proves stable and compliant, more institutions participate.

The RWA tokenization market isn’t just expanding—it’s consolidating. Projects focusing on specific asset classes (treasuries, securities, private credit) are gaining traction over generalist platforms. Those with regulatory compliance built-in, not bolted on, are attracting institutional customers.

What This Means for Investors

The RWA tokenization coins space offers multiple entry points:

• Pure-play infrastructure: Ondo for treasury tokenization, Mantra for emerging market infrastructure
• Yield optimization: Pendle for advanced strategies across RWAs and DeFi
• Compliance focus: Polymesh (POLYX) and Securitize for institutional-grade tokenization
• Supply chain verification: OriginTrail for non-financial asset provenance
• Retail accessibility: TokenFi for no-code asset tokenization

The market has clearly transitioned from “will this work?” to “how do we scale this responsibly?” That inflection point typically precedes massive adoption curves. Whether you’re seeking governance participation, yield generation, or infrastructure exposure, the tokenization coins landscape offers genuine optionality in 2024 and beyond.