The downward trend in the cryptocurrency market continued today, with the total market capitalization decreasing by 3.17% over the past month amid ongoing sell-offs. However, there is one sector that defied this trend: tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).
The value of distributed assets continued to rise, reaching an all-time high despite unfavorable market conditions.
The continued selling of Bitcoin while the RWA sector has not been significantly affected.
According to data from RWA.xyz, the sector now has distributed asset value amounting to $19.06 billion. This represents an increase of 4.59% over the past month.
Meanwhile, the value of represented assets is $414.6 billion, primarily driven by the management of the Canton Network, which has $395.2 billion in institutional assets.
The number of asset holders has also increased, rising by 7.23% to reach 583,821. Stablecoins continue to dominate the sector, with a total value of $299.17 billion and 212.54 million holders. This represents an increase of 4.12% during the same period.
Kevin Rasher, founder of RAAC, a lending and borrowing system affiliated with RWA, stated that market interest in the cryptocurrency sector is still heavily focused on the price of Bitcoin, which has continued to decline. He noted that recent developments indicate continued selling pressure.
"As usual, most attention within the cryptocurrency sector is focused on the price of Bitcoin, which continues to slide out of 2025 as if it were stuck on a sled.... The news yesterday that halted the strategy of buying Bitcoin and placed more than $700 million in cash indicates that this selling is likely to continue. Inflows into Bitcoin have also decreased significantly this year compared to last year, totaling $27.2 billion compared to $41.6 billion in 2024," Rasher stated.
Tokenized gold is emerging as a key growth driver.
Despite this broader weakness, Rasher confirmed that the selling pressure has not extended to the tokenized RWA sector. He noted that this sector is still largely overlooked by most of the cryptocurrency market, even as it has achieved some of the strongest returns this year.
This growth has been fueled in part by rising global demand for gold. This precious metal continues to achieve all-time highs. The standout versions of the metal have seen particularly strong momentum in response.
"In fact, tokenized gold has risen by 227% from $1 billion to more than $3.27 billion since then, while its sector - RWA commodities - is one of the main growth points for this year. This sector started 2025 with only four gold products and ends this sector with 15 products distributed not only on gold but now also on oil, wheat, platinum, soybeans, and more," the executive noted.
Additionally, Mehran Khatak, General Counsel at Trust Wallet, pointed out that tokenized gold may emerge as a strong competitor to Bitcoin.
"We are at a point where you start thinking, like, real assets, like converting assets to tokenization, once you have tokenized gold, and if it is tokenized in the right way, that is a big warning. Because Bitcoin is heavily used as a store of value. And if that is the case, tokenized gold becomes a strong competitor to Bitcoin," he said.
Meanwhile, according to Rasher, the expansion of the sector is not only limited to large institutional demand but also to increased participation from the retail sector. He noted that individual investors are leaning towards stable assets on-chain rather than completely exiting the market during periods of increased volatility.
"The turbulent year we've seen has shaped the sector and made it a strong and fertile growth space. This is a very positive indicator for the growth of digital currencies in general, as RWA will provide a stable foundation meaning that liquidity will remain in digital currencies even when times get tough. 'The RWA is definitely the future of digital currencies and deserves much greater attention,' he added.
The tokenization market could reach $100 billion by 2026.
Looking ahead, Jesse Notson, Chief Operating Officer at Bitfinex Securities, predicted that the tokenization market as a whole will grow to at least $100 billion by the end of 2026.
Tokenized fixed income products are expected to remain the dominant segment in the near term, while tokenized equities gradually increase their share of total tokenized assets.
Notson added that the continued tokenization of equities is likely to attract a larger number of participants in the retail sector, helping to expand and deepen the investor base for tokenized assets.
"Tokenization can open regulatory opportunities to investment opportunities like micro-financing bonds, litigation finance products, or Bitcoin hash rate contracts, which are assets not available in traditional markets. We expect this momentum to continue into 2026, with more alternative assets, innovative fixed income products supported by Bitcoin mining, and tokenized exchange-traded funds," he mentioned to BeInCrypto.
Previously, Bloom's CEO, Chris Yen, predicted a 10–20 fold expansion in value and users by 2026, even with conservative assumptions. Therefore, as the RWA space continues to expand, its performance in 2026 is likely to be a key trend to watch.
