As broader markets remain under pressure, Real-world assets (RWA) have emerged as one of the few sectors still attracting ongoing interest. The market has grown over 150% this year. Additionally, Plume's founder and CEO Chris Yin estimated that it could grow 10 to 20 times in both value and user acceptance over the next year, even with conservative estimates.
In an interview with BeInCrypto, Yin explained why RWAs are attracting interest in the current market situation. He also elaborated on why they could remain at the center of the next market cycle.
Why investors choose RWAs in 2025
In the last quarter of the year, the crypto market has been under significant pressure, forcing many to exit the market. Despite this, the RWA sector has managed to attract both private and institutional investors.
Data from RWA.xyz shows that the total number of asset holders has increased by 103.7% over the past month. This indicates a growth in commitment, even as market sentiment is declining.
According to Plume's founder,
“The RWA market has been driven by interest from various sectors in on-chain assets related to reality. This brings certainty to the markets during a time when we have been in a not-quite-bear market, not-quite-bull market.”
As the economic downturn continues, Yin emphasized that investors are becoming increasingly cautious about the volatility and sustainability of yields in decentralized financial markets. On the other hand, RWAs are increasingly seen as a source of more stable yields.
With DeFi yields under pressure and economic uncertainty continuing, tokenized government bonds or private credit instruments are starting to look more attractive relative to risk.
Yin also highlighted the rapid growth of stablecoins this year as a sign of the market's overall shift towards stability, particularly from the perspective of institutional players.
“As stablecoins form the basis for the adoption of RWA, the next logical step is developing yield coins and yield opportunities for RWA. Investors are looking for quality assets that produce safe, stable, and reliable returns. Stablecoins attract users in, but yield opportunities guide both institutions and private investors to these assets,” Yin told BeInCrypto.
As investors seek stability, Yin also acknowledged that one of the biggest concerns regarding RWAs is the perception that they bring additional KYC and compliance risks.
Nonetheless, he believes that tokenization can actually enhance regulatory oversight. This can be achieved by making identity verification, access rights, and transfer restrictions programmable at the asset level.
Instead of off-chain compliance processes, issuers can set rules directly into tokens by implementing real-time eligibility checks, automated reporting, and immutable audit trails.
Real-world assets are expected to remain a core theme in the markets in the next period.
Although the RWA sector has grown in popularity this year, Yin estimates that the industry will remain solidly at the center of both traditional and decentralized finance in the next market cycle.
He noted that currently, most of the RWA values are concentrated in tokenized government bonds. However, as the market matures, Yin expects the adoption of private loans and a broader range of asset classes to increase.
The selection may also include tokenized mineral rights, such as oil. Additionally, this can include GPU computing power, energy infrastructure, and other physical resources.
“Successes are those who identify new opportunities, not just rely on old solutions that have worked in the past,” the director stated.
Last month, Coinbase Ventures highlighted RWA-perpetuals as one of its funding targets for 2026, demonstrating strong confidence. Additionally, Yin stated that the company has been consistently optimistic about RWA-perpetuals.
According to Yin, perpetuals often generate trading volumes that significantly exceed the volumes of spot markets, largely due to better user experience. He explained that perpetuals are user-friendly, allowing participants to easily take directional positions and also use leverage.
“We have always said at Plume that bringing RWA on-chain succeeds by making it an interface that crypto users recognize. In the spot market, this means making RWA freely usable, combinable, and liquid, as we do in our Nest yield protocol at Plume. Another way crypto users invest in assets is through perpetuals, so we are very positive and excited about this form and what it can mean for RWA,” he explained.
Yin also pointed out innovations in real-world yield. He said it is changing how yield can be obtained and traded in an on-chain environment.
Yin mentioned Pendle as an example, noting that the protocol has separated capital from yield. This development has brought a new market structure for tokenized RWA cash flows.
In addition to individual protocols, Yin noted that RWA is gaining popularity across many blockchain ecosystems.
“The wave of RWA on Solana shows what happens when yield becomes fast, programmable, and accessible to millions of users,” he mentioned.
Yin added that Solana's speed and throughput make it one of the few networks capable of supporting large-scale, high-frequency yield operations. This feature is emphasized as real-world assets evolve from passive income instruments to a more active, trading-enabled yield economy.
“The experimentation happening there seems to be a preview of the next chapter for the RWA sector. Areas where real-world assets are being brought on-chain in a way characteristic of cryptocurrencies are particularly interesting. Therefore, RWA-perpetuals are one category, but also various new asset classes, such as Tradable's sports and Pokémon cards, new financial building blocks, like insurance with Cork, and many others,” he noted.
With expansion, Yin emphasized that adapting to regulations and legislation remains a key focus. He highlighted that projects that take compliance seriously are likely to emerge as long-term winners, especially as governments and large institutions demand increasingly built-in regulatory solutions and clearer standards for asset issuance on-chain.
What to expect from the RWA sector in 2026
Looking to the future, Yin identified three key factors that he believes will take the RWA sector to new heights over the next 12 months. First, he mentioned bottom-up adoption and growth in real-world assets.
Yin noted that the value of real-world assets has more than tripled over the past year. Additionally, the number of RWA owners has increased by more than seven times.
“The birth of Plume's mainnet has more than doubled the entire RWA ownership base, and I believe growth is accelerating among crypto investors, as real-world assets still represent only a small part of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization,” he commented.
Secondly, Yin emphasized the increasing consistency among institutional and regulatory bodies. According to him, governments, financial institutions, and technology companies are now actively focusing on tokenization. While these initiatives typically take time, Yin believes their realization can bring billions of dollars in asset value to blockchain.
Finally, the head of Plume mentioned broader macroeconomic conditions as a structural tailwind.
“Current macroeconomic conditions mean that people both inside and outside the blockchain are constantly seeking stable yields, and alternative assets are gaining visibility, enabling organic RWA growth on-chain,” he told BeInCrypto.
Yin concluded that there is little reason to expect a slowdown in sentiment, considering the number of ongoing changes. According to him,
“A 10-20 times increase in value and users next year is the minimum we should expect.”
Thus, real-world assets are increasingly seen as a structural change, not just a short-term trend by 2026. Growing adoption, expanding asset classes, and stronger consistency support an industry that is well-positioned for the next phase of chain growth.
