Only Around 10% of RWA Liquidity Is Active in DeFi Protocols

According to research by Tanaka, the RWA sector is growing at a remarkable pace, but DeFi has captured almost none of the upside, with only around 10% of RWA liquidity currently active in DeFi protocols. For example, tokenized gold and commodities are worth approximately $7 billion on-chain, yet only $184 million is active within DeFi.

Most tokenized Treasury products are essentially on-chain PDF files wrapped with KYC requirements. Products such as BUIDL, FOBXX, USTB, and OUSG manage significant assets, but transfers remain restricted by whitelists, transfer agents, qualified purchaser checks, redemption windows, and other compliance mechanisms.