Real-world assets now represent $7.4B in DeFi deposits (6% of total), up 3x year-over-year despite broader market contraction.
DeFi & Yields ·
Real-world asset deposits across decentralized finance platforms have grown to $7.4 billion, reflecting a tripling of capital since the prior year. This expansion occurred even as overall DeFi activity declined, with RWAs now accounting for 6 percent of total deposits across lending markets and decentralized exchanges, up from roughly 1 percent in early 2025.
The shift signals an emerging preference for tokenized physical and financial assets within decentralized systems. The category encompasses everything from commodity-backed instruments to securitized debt, attracting capital that might have previously concentrated in volatile token pools. Centrifuge highlighted the trend as evidence that institutional-grade assets are gaining traction in DeFi infrastructure.
The growth trajectory raises questions about whether RWA adoption will sustain without further regulatory clarity or whether the category remains sensitive to shifts in broader macroeconomic sentiment. The relative youth of most RWA lending protocols and their dependence on oracle pricing leave open questions about systemic resilience under stress.