Institutions Drive RWA Tokenization Boom, Retail Investors May Face Participation Window

On February 11, during the panel discussion at the Consensus Hong Kong 2026 conference, several industry leaders explored the development trends of tokenized real-world assets (RWA). Participants included Evan Auyang, President of Animoca Brands Group; Christian Rau, Senior Vice President of Digital Assets and Blockchain at Mastercard; Nicola White, Vice President of Robinhood Crypto; and Marcin Kazmierczak, Co-Founder of Redstone Group, who moderated the discussion.

During the discussion, the guests echoed the view of Rob Goldstein, Chief Operating Officer of BlackRock: digital ledgers are the most exciting innovation in finance since the advent of double-entry bookkeeping 700 years ago. Currently, RWAs are primarily held by institutional investors, with demand focused on tokenized money market funds, U.S. Treasuries, stablecoin integration, and collateral optimization products such as BlackRock’s BUIDL and Robinhood’s solutions, demonstrating the increasing practical value of this field.

Retail investor participation remains relatively low, with only a few attendees indicating they hold tokenized risk-weighted assets in their wallets. Experts pointed out that Europe’s clear regulatory environment provides a first-mover advantage for tokenized listed stocks, while areas like private credit, real estate, art, and private equity also show long-term growth potential—especially as companies extend their private status and market demand for around-the-clock access to fragmented assets increases.

The consensus is that RWAs are gradually shifting from early hype to practical use by institutions. Once regulatory and technological barriers are gradually removed, retail investors’ participation could unlock the trillions of dollars of liquidity in underdeveloped markets, injecting new momentum into the global digital asset ecosystem.

As institutional investment continues to advance the tokenization of RWAs, the digitalization and globalization of financial markets will accelerate further. In the future, retail investors may also participate in this emerging asset class under controlled risk, enabling broader capital allocation and wealth growth opportunities.

View Original
Disclaimer: The information on this page may come from third parties and does not represent the views or opinions of Gate. The content displayed on this page is for reference only and does not constitute any financial, investment, or legal advice. Gate does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information and shall not be liable for any losses arising from the use of this information. Virtual asset investments carry high risks and are subject to significant price volatility. You may lose all of your invested principal. Please fully understand the relevant risks and make prudent decisions based on your own financial situation and risk tolerance. For details, please refer to Disclaimer.

Related Articles

ZeroHash Applies for National Trust Bank Charter as OCC Crypto Pipeline Grows

ZeroHash has applied for a national trust bank charter for digital asset custody and stablecoin services, while Revolut seeks a full U.S. bank charter to offer various financial services including crypto.

Decrypt5h ago

UXLINK Taps GANA to Accelerate Social PayFi Via BNB Chain

UXLINK and GANA have formed a partnership to merge social networking and cryptocurrency payments, enhancing digital payment accessibility within online communities. This collaboration aims to create seamless transactions and supports the trend of integrating financial infrastructure with social interaction in the blockchain space.

BlockChainReporter5h ago

Cardano's ADA Token Now Accepted at Spar Supermarkets in Switzerland

In brief Cardano’s ADA token is now available as a payment option in 137 Spar stores across Switzerland. The brick-and-mortar retail payments option is available through Cardano’s integration with fiat on- and off- ramp platform DFX.swiss. The partnership is “planting seeds” for a

Decrypt5h ago

Western Union Launches USDPT Stablecoin on Solana Network

_Western Union is launching USDPT, a new stablecoin on Solana, backed by 360,000 cash locations across 200+ countries worldwide._ Western Union is making a bold move into the stablecoin space. The global payments giant has announced USDPT, a new U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin built on Solana

LiveBTCNews6h ago

Tether Backs Axiym to Expand USDT in Global Payments

_Tether invests in Axiym to expand USDT across global payment systems, aiming to streamline cross-border settlement._ Tether has made a strategic investment in Axiym, a fintech company building distributed treasury and settlement infrastructure.  The move aims to bring USDT directly into

LiveBTCNews6h ago

Chainlink partners with Visa and Zhongxia Foundation to complete cross-border foreign exchange settlement solution testing

Visa, ANZ Bank, and others successfully implemented a cross-border foreign exchange settlement solution in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's e-HKD project using Chainlink, demonstrating the secure transfer of digital assets between private and public blockchains and automatic compliance capabilities.

GateNews7h ago
Comment
0/400
No comments