While broader markets remain under pressure, real-world assets (RWA) stand out as one of the few sectors attracting sustained interest. This market has grown by over 150% this year. Furthermore, Chris Yin, co-founder and CEO of Plume, predicts that over the next 12 months it could grow by as much as 10-20 times in terms of value and number of users, even under conservative assumptions.
In an interview with BeInCrypto, Yin explained why real-world assets (RWA) are gaining popularity at this stage of the market. He also discussed why they may remain a key topic during the next phase of the market.
Why are investors choosing real-world assets in 2025?
In Q4, the broader cryptocurrency market faced significant difficulties, causing many to leave the market. Despite this, the RWA sector managed to attract retail and institutional interest.
Data from RWA.xyz shows that the number of asset holders increased by 103.7% last month. This shows growing engagement despite weakening market sentiment. The co-founder of Plume shared in his statement:
“The RWA market is driven by interest in various sectors of on-chain assets linked to reality. This is a certain level of stability in an environment that is neither fully bearish nor fully bullish.”
In the face of prolonged economic slowdown, Yin emphasized that investors are increasingly scrutinizing volatility and profit stability in decentralized finance markets. Meanwhile, RWA is increasingly seen as a source of more stable returns.
Furthermore, under pressure for profits in DeFi and ongoing economic uncertainty, tokenized treasury bonds or credit instruments are gaining attractiveness when assessing risk.
In this context, Yin also pointed to the rapid growth of stablecoins this year as evidence of a broader market shift towards stability. This is particularly evident among institutions. The Plume director for BeInCrypto said:
“Since stablecoins are the foundation for entering the world of RWA, the next natural step is the development of profit-generating coins and emerging opportunities for profit from RWA. People are looking for high-quality assets that generate safe, stable, and predictable income. Stablecoins attract users. However, it is the new profit opportunities that persuade both institutions and individuals to these assets.”
Investors are increasingly choosing stability, but Yin noted that the main concern regarding RWA is its perception as an additional KYC and regulatory compliance risk.
However, the expert argues that tokenization can actually strengthen regulatory oversight. It enables programmable identity verification, access permissions, and transfer restrictions directly at the asset level.
Instead of relying on decentralized, off-chain processes, issuers can enforce rules directly in the token. This is done through ongoing permission checks, automatic reporting, and immutable audit trails.
RWA is expected to remain a key theme in the market in the next phase of the cycle.
Assets from the real world are gaining popularity this year as well. Yin points out that the sector will remain important for both traditional finance and decentralized finance in the next phase of the market.
Currently, most RWA value is concentrated in tokenized treasury bonds. However, as the market matures, Yin expects greater acceptance of private loans and a broader selection of alternative assets.
This may include tokenized exposure to rights to commodities such as oil. It may also concern GPUs, energy infrastructure, and other real-world resources. Yin commented:
“Those who will win are those who see new opportunities instead of just multiplying what has worked so far.”
Last month, Coinbase Ventures identified perpetual RWA instruments as one of the categories they intend to finance in 2026. This reflects a high level of confidence. Yin also revealed that the company has long been optimistic about RWA-based perpetuals.
Meanwhile, according to Yin, perpetuals often generate higher volumes than spot markets. This is mainly due to a better user experience. The expert also explained that perpetuals are easy to use, allow for quick directional positioning, and enable leverage.
Yin also pointed to the growing innovation related to real profits. He argues that this changes how access to profit becomes possible and tradable on-chain. He cited Pendle as an example, noting that separating capital from profit through this protocol has introduced a new market structure for tokenized cash flow from RWA.
Beyond individual protocols, Yin emphasized that RWA is gaining momentum across multiple blockchain ecosystems. The expert mentioned:
“The RWA wave on Solana shows what happens when profit becomes fast, programmable, and accessible to millions of people.”
Plume's co-founder added that the speed and throughput of Solana make it one of the few networks capable of handling high-frequency yield operations on a large scale. This feature is becoming increasingly important as RWA transform from passive income instruments into a more active, trading profit economy.
With this development, Yin emphasized that regulatory and legislative compliance will remain a key priority. According to him, projects that focus on compliance have the greatest chance of long-term success. This is especially true as governments and large institutions increasingly expect embedded regulatory safeguards. They also appreciate clearer standards for issuing on-chain assets.
What to expect from the RWA sector in 2026
Looking ahead, Yin identified three main growth factors that will drive the RWA sector over the next 12 months. First, he mentioned the continuation of adoption and development of real-world assets. Additionally, he noted that the sector's value has increased more than threefold over the past year. Moreover, the number of asset holders has increased more than sevenfold. The Plume director emphasized:
“The Plume mainnet has launched and more than doubled the number of RWA holders. I believe this trend continues to accelerate among native crypto users as RWA still constitute a small part of the total crypto market capitalization.”
Secondly, Yin emphasized the growing alignment between institutions and regulators. He believes that governments, financial institutions, and technology companies are now actively focusing on tokenization. Although such initiatives take time to implement, Yin thinks that their deployment could bring assets worth billions of USD onto the blockchain.
Finally, Plume's co-founder pointed to the overall macroeconomic conditions as a structural tailwind for technology:
“The current macro situation causes both off-chain and on-chain entities to constantly seek stable profits, and alternative assets are also gaining importance. These are both factors that open the way for organic growth of on-chain RWA.”
Yin summarized that there are no reasons to expect a slowdown in growth pace with so many supporting factors:
“The growth in value and number of users 10–20 times next year is the lowest boundary of our expectations.”
Thus, RWA is increasingly becoming a permanent change rather than just a short-term trend in 2026. Growing adoption, new types of assets, and better compliance make the sector ready to play a key role in the next stage of on-chain growth.
To access the latest cryptocurrency market analysis from BeInCrypto, click here.
