The downtrend in the cryptocurrency market continues today. In the last month, the total market capitalization has decreased by 3.17%, and the selling pressure is still ongoing. However, there is one sector that is moving contrary to this trend: Real World Asset (RWA) tokens.
The value of distributed assets continues to rise steadily and has reached an all-time high despite adverse market conditions.
The Sales Wave in Bitcoin Continues: The Real World Asset (RWA) Sector Remains Unaffected
According to RWA.xyz data, the sector currently has a distributed asset value of 19.06 billion dollars. This figure indicates a 4.59% increase in value over the past month.
At the same time, the total asset value represented reached 414.6 billion dollars. The main driver of this increase is the 395.2 billion dollars in institutional assets managed by the Canton Network.
The number of asset owners has also increased significantly, rising by 7.23% to reach 583,821. Stablecoins maintain their weight in the sector: The total value has reached 299.17 billion dollars, and the number of owners has reached 212.54 million people. There is also a 4.12% increase in this area during the same period.
Kevin Rusher, founder of the RWA lending and borrowing ecosystem RAAC, stated that the main focus in the cryptocurrency market is still on the price of Bitcoin, which continues to decline. He also indicated that recent developments suggest that selling pressure may continue.
Rusher stated, ‘As always, the main interest in the crypto sector lies in the price of Bitcoin, which is drifting out like it's been stuck on a shelf since 2025... The news that Strategy halted BTC purchases and transitioned to over 700 million dollars in cash shows that selling pressure will likely continue. Inflows into Bitcoin have also significantly decreased this year compared to last year: It has dropped to 27.2 billion dollars from 41.6 billion dollars in 2024,’ he said.
Tokenized Gold Ecosystem is Leading in Growth
Despite the general weakness in the market, Rusher emphasized that the selling pressure has not affected the tokenized RWA sector. He stated that this segment is still largely ignored by the majority of the cryptocurrency market, yet it offers the best returns of the year.
Another factor contributing to growth is the increase in global gold demand. The precious metal is seeing new ATHs in succession. The tokenized versions of the metal have gained much stronger momentum.
‘Indeed, the value of tokenized gold has increased by 227% since the beginning of the year: it has risen from 1 billion dollars to over 3.27 billion dollars. This sector—namely the RWA commodities sector—has become one of the most notable growth areas of the year. Entering 2025 with only four gold products, by the end of the year, the sector will encompass not just gold, but also oil, wheat, platinum, soybeans, and more, totaling 15 products,’ he said.
In addition, Trust Wallet’s General Advisor Shehram Khattak stated that tokenized gold could emerge as a strong competitor to Bitcoin.
Khattak stated, ‘We are now starting to think about real-world assets—such as tokenized assets. If tokenized gold is organized correctly, there is a great opportunity here. Because Bitcoin is highly preferred as a store of value. Therefore, in this case, tokenized gold could become a serious competitor to Bitcoin,’ he said.
On the other hand, according to Rusher, the growth in the sector is driven not only by significant institutional demand but also by increasing individual participation. Rusher noted that individual investors are turning to on-chain assets like stablecoins instead of completely exiting the market during periods of high volatility.
‘The volatile year we have experienced has shaped the sector and turned it into a solid, fertile area for growth. This is a tremendous signal for the overall growth of cryptocurrency: Because RWAs will create a solid ground that allows liquidity to remain in crypto even when market conditions become difficult. RWAs are definitely the future of cryptocurrency, and much more interest should be shown in this area,’ he added.
The Tokenized Market is Expected to Reach 100 Billion Dollars by 2026
Looking ahead, Bitfinex Securities Operations Manager Jesse Knutson predicted that the tokenization market would reach at least 100 billion dollars by the end of 2026.
In the short term, Knutson believes that the weight of tokenized fixed-income products will be maintained, and he emphasized that the share of tokenized stocks within total assets will gradually increase.
Knutson also added that the widespread adoption of tokenized stocks would attract more individual investors to this ecosystem, thereby expanding the investor base for tokenized assets.
Knutson told BeInCrypto, ‘Thanks to tokenized processes, access to investment options not found in traditional markets, such as microfinance bonds, litigation finance products, or Bitcoin hashrate contracts, can be organized. We predict that this momentum will continue until 2026, and we will see more alternative assets, innovative Bitcoin mining-supported fixed-income products, and tokenized ETFs,’ he said.
Previously, Plume CEO Chris Yin had forecasted 10-20 times growth in value and user numbers for 2026, painting a cautious yet ambitious picture. In short, as the RWA sector continues to grow, its performance in 2026 could be one of the key trends to watch.
