More than half of the tokenized real-world asset market shows no weekly on-chain activity, exposing a major gap between headline asset growth and actual blockchain-based liquidity.
A report by BeInCrypto Research and RWA.xyz found that the tokenized RWA market reached approximately $60 billion as of May 2026, excluding stablecoins and repurchase agreements. However, 56% of market value showed no weekly on-chain transfer activity, suggesting that many tokenized assets exist on-chain in name but are not actively circulating, trading or being used in market transactions.
The report also found that the market remains highly concentrated. Just 62 assets account for about 88% of total tokenized RWA value, while five products alone represent roughly half of the market. That concentration means headline growth can be misleading, because a small number of large products drive most of the sector’s value while many other tokenized assets remain inactive or thinly used.
The findings challenge one of the central promises of tokenization: that putting traditional assets on blockchain rails will automatically improve liquidity, access and market efficiency. Tokenization can make ownership records programmable and transferable, but it does not guarantee buyers, sellers, market makers, settlement depth or secondary-market activity.
The report’s strongest conclusion is that U.S. Treasuries are currently the only tokenized RWA category to reach “production grade.” Other sectors, including private credit, commodities, real estate and tokenized equities, remain less mature because of weaker liquidity, limited investor access, regulatory restrictions or operational complexity.
Treasuries Lead Because Demand Is Clear
Tokenized U.S. Treasuries have become the strongest RWA category because they solve a real and immediate market problem. Investors want dollar yield, short-duration exposure and on-chain collateral that can be used across crypto markets without relying only on stablecoins.
Products backed by Treasury bills and money-market instruments are easier to understand than many other tokenized assets. They have clear pricing, deep underlying markets, transparent income streams and strong institutional demand. That makes them more suitable for production-scale deployment than tokenized real estate, private credit or niche commodities, where valuation, transfer restrictions and buyer access are more complicated.
Tokenized Treasuries also benefit from integration with crypto-native use cases. They can serve as collateral, treasury-management tools, yield-bearing cash substitutes and settlement assets for institutions operating on-chain. That gives them practical utility beyond simply existing as blockchain representations of off-chain assets.
By contrast, many other RWAs remain trapped in limited distribution channels. Whitelisting, jurisdictional restrictions, custody arrangements and fragmented compliance requirements can prevent assets from freely moving across wallets or trading venues. As a result, tokenized ownership may exist, but market activity remains minimal.
TVL Alone No Longer Tells the Story
The report reinforces a broader shift in how investors should evaluate RWAs. Total value locked or total tokenized value is no longer enough. A product with billions in tokenized assets may still be illiquid if it has few holders, limited transfers, no active secondary market and no meaningful integration with DeFi or institutional settlement systems.
For issuers, the findings are a warning that tokenization requires more than legal structuring and smart contracts. Successful products need distribution, market makers, redemption infrastructure, data transparency, custody confidence and clear regulatory treatment. Without those elements, tokenized assets can become static wrappers around traditional instruments rather than liquid on-chain markets.
For investors, the 56% inactivity figure highlights liquidity risk. Assets that look large on a dashboard may be difficult to exit, price or finance if real transaction activity is low. That matters especially for institutions, which need reliable settlement, compliance and liquidity before allocating serious capital.
The broader market impact is that RWA tokenization is maturing from a narrative into a performance test. Growth remains impressive, and U.S. Treasuries show that tokenized financial assets can reach real adoption. But the rest of the market still needs to prove that blockchain rails can create usable liquidity, not just digital certificates. Until more categories show consistent transfer activity and deeper participation, tokenized RWAs will remain a promising but uneven sector led overwhelmingly by Treasury products.
