Dive Into the Top Tokenization Crypto Projects Reshaping DeFi in 2024

The crypto market is witnessing a major shift as real-world assets (RWAs) make their way onto blockchain networks. Tokenization—converting physical assets into digital tokens—has exploded from a niche concept into a multi-billion dollar phenomenon. As of March 2024, the RWA token market has surged past $8.4 billion, signaling institutional confidence in this emerging sector. BlackRock’s entry with its BUIDL tokenized fund on Ethereum has accelerated mainstream adoption, but which tokenization crypto projects are actually leading the charge?

Why Tokenization Is Reshaping Investment Opportunities

The appeal is straightforward: tokenization unlocks dormant value. By converting illiquid assets into tradable tokens, investors gain access to previously gated opportunities. Here’s what makes this transformative:

Breaking Down Market Barriers Tokenization democratizes investment by enabling fractional ownership of high-value assets like real estate, commodities, and securities. This opens markets to retail investors who couldn’t afford entry into traditional finance.

Enhancing Liquidity on Blockchain Assets traditionally locked for years can now be traded instantly. This liquidity boost attracts institutional capital and drives natural market growth across DeFi platforms.

Building Trust Through Transparency Blockchain’s immutable record-keeping creates verifiable ownership and transaction history, eliminating counterparty risk that plagues traditional markets.

Sparking DeFi Innovation Tokenized assets serve as collateral for new financial instruments—lending protocols, derivatives, yield strategies—expanding what’s possible in decentralized finance.

Leading Tokenization Crypto Projects Transforming the Space

Ondo (ONDO): Bridging TradFi and DeFi

Ondo Finance stands as the pioneer in accessible RWA tokenization. Its flagship product, OUSG, became the world’s first tokenized US Treasury offering, directly addressing investor demand for blockchain-based yield.

The platform operates through two key mechanisms: OUSG enables exposure to Treasury instruments with daily accruals, while Flux Finance lets users leverage tokenized assets as collateral—creating a circular DeFi ecosystem. This March 2024, Ondo made headlines by moving $95 million in OUSG holdings to BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, marking the first instance of a crypto protocol utilizing traditional asset managers’ blockchain infrastructure.

Ondo’s governance token (ONDO) empowers community participation in protocol evolution, while recent network expansions to Sui and Aptos signal ambitions to capture cross-chain liquidity.

Mantra (OM): Scaling RWAs Across Asia

MANTRA positions itself as the Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for RWA infrastructure. Following an $11 million funding round from Shorooq Partners, the project has focused on creating regulatory-compliant rails for RWA tokenization.

Current Market Data:

• Price: $0.08
• 24h Change: +0.86%
• Market Cap: $90.23M
• Trading Volume: $465.48K

The OM token powers staking rewards and governance, enabling passive income while users shape protocol development. Mantra’s regional focus on Middle East and Asia markets positions it to capture underserved geographies where traditional banking infrastructure remains fragmented.

Polymesh (POLYX): Enterprise-Grade Security Token Layer

Polymesh operates as a specialized permissioned blockchain explicitly designed for securities tokenization. Unlike general-purpose chains, every component—from settlement to compliance—assumes institutional requirements from day one.

Current Market Data:

• Price: $0.06
• 24h Change: -1.19%
• Market Cap: $72.30M
• Trading Volume: $115.35K

The POLYX token handles transaction fees while underpinning governance and token creation. Its asymptotic tokenomics model prevents inflation spiral, maintaining long-term sustainability. For institutions uncomfortable with public blockchains’ permissionless nature, Polymesh offers a middle ground: public transparency with private governance.

OriginTrail (TRAC): Knowledge Assets Meet Tokenization

OriginTrail approaches tokenization through supply chain verification. Its Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG) technology creates AI-ready data assets that carry provenance and ownership metadata across sectors from logistics to healthcare.

By tokenizing the “trust layer” rather than assets directly, TRAC enables organizations to prove authenticity and ownership without revealing sensitive information—a critical feature for enterprise adoption.

Pendle (PENDLE): Yield Management Reimagined

Pendle’s innovation separates yield from principal, allowing traders to speculate on future yield movements independently. Recent RWA integrations with Boosted Dai Savings and Flux Finance’s fUSDC demonstrate how DeFi protocols are absorbing traditional financial products.

Current Market Data:

• Price: $2.19
• 24h Change: -0.45%
• Market Cap: $370.12M
• Trading Volume: $264.49K

This positions Pendle as a bridge protocol—retail speculators can hedge yield exposure while institutions gain sophisticated tools for multi-strategy portfolio management.

TokenFi (TOKEN): No-Code RWA Tokenization

TokenFi targets the projected $16 trillion RWA market by 2030 with a radically simplified approach: create ERC20/BEP20 tokens without writing a single line of code. Its AI-powered NFT generator and Smart Contract Auditor remove technical barriers that previously gatekept tokenization.

Current Market Data:

• Price: $0.01
• 24h Change: -9.84%
• Market Cap: $19.55M
• Trading Volume: $996.36K

For small businesses and regional asset issuers, TokenFi democratizes access to blockchain infrastructure that was previously exclusive to well-funded teams.

MakerDAO (MKR): DeFi’s RWA Mainstream Integration

MakerDAO has quietly become DeFi’s largest RWA adopter. As of March 2024, real-world assets comprise nearly 30% of its $6.6 billion TVL—approximately $2.06 billion in Treasury instruments alone.

Institutional borrowers mint DAI stablecoins against T-bill collateral, essentially tokenizing government debt at scale. This integration validates RWA tokenization not as experimental feature but as core DeFi infrastructure.

Other Notable Players

Securitize: Emerged as the compliance backbone for security tokens, with BlackRock’s strategic investment underscoring institutional endorsement.

Untangled Finance: Focuses on private credit tokenization post-$13.5 million funding round, targeting overlooked asset classes.

Swarm Markets (SMT): Maintains $5.4 million TVL while bridging TradFi and DeFi through regulatory-first design philosophy.

Market Trends: Why This Matters

The convergence of institutional capital (BlackRock’s BUIDL), specialized infrastructure (Polymesh, Mantra), and simplified tooling (TokenFi) suggests RWA tokenization has crossed the adoption chasm. What was esoteric blockchain experimentation is becoming operational reality for traditional finance.

The tokenization crypto projects listed above represent different market segments—from yield management to supply chain verification to institutional securities—collectively building the rails for a multi-trillion dollar asset class migration to blockchain.

By 2030, the distinction between “tokenized” and “traditional” assets may disappear entirely, replaced simply by “blockchain-native finance.”