Tokenized RWA market tops $44.7 billion, DeFi deposits hit $2.9 billion
DeFi & Yields ·
New data shows tokenized real-world assets have grown into a $44.7 billion market spanning several asset categories, with billions now circulating inside decentralized finance rather than sitting idle.
The figures, tracked through Token Terminal's explorer, show $2.9 billion of that total currently parked in DeFi venues, while $321.8 million changed hands on decentralized exchanges within a single 24-hour period, according to a post on Cointelegraph's X account.
The numbers point to a shift in how tokenized assets are being used. Rather than simply representing ownership of an off-chain asset on a blockchain, a growing share of that value is being routed into lending pools, liquidity venues and trading pairs — activity that generates yield or fees instead of just recording a claim.
IXS Finance framed this as a second phase for the sector, arguing that the initial wave of tokenization was mainly about getting assets onto chains, while the current stage involves those tokens being traded, deployed into DeFi protocols and converted into working capital. In that view, the transition matters because it marks the point where tokenization moves beyond acting as a digital wrapper and starts functioning as an active market.
The same set of figures — the $44.7 billion market cap, $2.9 billion in DeFi deposits and $321.8 million in daily DEX volume — has been corroborated across multiple reports covering the same data set, lending consistency to the headline numbers even as sourcing converges on Token Terminal's tracking.
What remains unclear is the breakdown of which asset classes are driving the DeFi deployment and DEX volume, and whether the pace of growth from issuance to active use will continue or plateau. Future updates to Token Terminal's data, along with further commentary from platforms like IXS Finance, are likely to clarify whether this marks a durable structural shift or a temporary spike in on-chain activity.