Glossary
Real-World Asset (RWA)
An off-chain asset — Treasury bills, real estate, private credit, invoices — tokenized so it can be held, traded, or used as collateral on a blockchain.
RWA is the catch-all label for bringing off-chain assets onto a blockchain. The largest category in 2024–2026 has been tokenized US Treasuries (BlackRock's BUIDL, Ondo's OUSG, Franklin's BENJI), followed by private credit, real estate, and trade-finance receivables.
The chain side is straightforward — issue a token, redeem it 1:1 against an off-chain claim. The hard part is the legal and operational wrapper that makes the claim enforceable. Adoption favors highly regulated issuers with bank-like operations.