- HTX Research released a paper revealing the massive growth of the RWA sector.
- The current success of the RWA industry is driven by the growing use of tokenization.
- The firm believes that the future of the market will depend on cash-flow finance.
The real-world asset (RWA) sector has seen rapid growth over the past two years, expanding far beyond a niche blockchain experiment. While this growth was largely based on RWA tokenization previously, a recent HTX Research report says that the industry’s priorities are beginning to change.
According to the report, the next phase of the RWA industry will depend less on tokenization. Instead, it will rely more on how these tokenized assets are used within decentralized finance (DeFi). The research says that RWAs are expected to serve as collateral, support lending, generate cash flow, and improve capital efficiency, rather than merely acting as digital certificates stored in wallets.
RWA Market Is Moving Beyond Tokenization
A detailed report on the evolution of the RWA market was released by HTX Research on July 27, 2026. According to this study, the first success of the industry is its capability of proving that traditional assets could be brought on-chain using blockchain technology.
The RWA tokenization space’s growth from below $3 billion in mid-2024 to nearly $34 billion now is impressive. This immense expansion indicates the growing importance of the industry. More companies are choosing blockchain to issue, settle, and manage traditional assets.
But the main point of the HTX Research report is different. The analysts say that simply tokenizing assets is no longer enough for the success of the sector. They believe that focus is now shifting to how these tokenized assets could be made useful in the DeFi space. This means that the role of these assets should evolve. They could be used as collateral, enter lending markets, support stablecoins, and take part in repo transactions, structured products, and other DeFi applications.
In simple terms, the report states that the future growth of the RWA market should not be measured by the number of tokenized assets. For the analysts, the industry could be defined by other metrics like utilization, lending activity, collateralization, secondary market liquidity, and protocol revenue.
Why Cash Flow Will Matter?
Further, the HTX Research paper stated that the next stage of the RWA market is connected closely to the evolution of decentralized finance. For a strong onchain financial system, tokenized assets alone are not enough. Instead, they need to work alongside stablecoins and DeFi protocols. Similar to them, they should be included in more financial services like lending and trading.
As per the report, DeFi projects will be increasingly judged by their cash flow rather than just their size. Previously, investors used to analyze metrics like Total Value Locked (TVL) to measure a protocol’s success. But, going forward, as per HTX Research, more attention will be given to revenue, profits, and governance. Investors will also look at whether protocol tokens can capture value from the platform’s financial activity.
Simply, the report asserts that the crypto market is moving from a narrative-driven phase to one focused on real financial utility. This means that the industry’s growth will depend more on the performance of these assets in generating income, improving the use of capital, and supporting more financial services.
Related: Here is How India’s Household Gold Could Drive the Next RWA Boom
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