The market for tokenized real-world assets just crossed $43 billion in total capitalization. Six months ago, that number was roughly a third smaller. The gap between “traditional finance talks about blockchain” and “traditional finance actually uses blockchain” is closing fast.

According to Token Terminal, the sector has surged 37% over the past half-year as institutions move beyond pilot programs and into production-scale tokenization. The growth isn’t coming from one corner of finance, either. It’s spreading across treasuries, funds, private credit, and commodities, a broadening that suggests this isn’t a single-product fad.

Who’s actually building this market

The names behind the biggest tokenized products read like a roster of firms that don’t typically show up at crypto conferences. Circle’s USYC sits at approximately $3 billion in value, making it one of the largest tokenized treasury and fund products in existence. BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, the asset manager’s tokenized money market vehicle, clocks in at around $2.4 billion.

Gold-backed tokens have carved out their own substantial niche within the broader RWA ecosystem. Tether’s XAUT gold token carries a valuation of roughly $2.6 billion, while Paxos’s PAXG sits at approximately $2 billion. Combined, those two products alone account for over $4.5 billion in tokenized commodity exposure.

Ethereum still dominates, but the lead is shrinking

Ethereum remains the primary blockchain for tokenized RWAs, holding an estimated 51-58% of the market. That’s a dominant position by any measure, but the range itself tells a story. Earlier data pegged Ethereum’s share closer to 57.8%, and more recent estimates suggest it has slipped toward 51%.

The sector hit its tenth consecutive monthly record high in May 2026, when total market capitalization reached $28.9 billion. The jump from $28.9 billion to over $43 billion in roughly one month is striking, suggesting that new large-scale tokenization events or fund launches are accelerating the trajectory rather than just steady organic growth.

Token Terminal’s data covers thousands of tokenized assets across multiple chains, using standardized metrics for market capitalization and growth. The firm’s tracking also highlights that the total underlying asset values eligible for tokenization remain vastly larger than the current $43 billion figure.

Why institutions keep showing up

The appeal of tokenization for institutional players boils down to three operational advantages that traditional rails struggle to match: faster settlement times, round-the-clock market access, and programmability.

Settlement in traditional finance typically takes one to two business days. On-chain settlement can happen in minutes or seconds. For institutions managing billions in assets, shaving a day off settlement isn’t a novelty. It’s a reduction in counterparty risk and a freeing up of capital that would otherwise sit in limbo.

The 24/7 access point is equally practical. Traditional markets close on weekends and holidays. Tokenized assets trade on blockchain infrastructure that doesn’t take days off.

Programmability, the ability to embed rules and logic directly into the asset itself, opens doors to automated compliance, dividend distributions, and portfolio rebalancing.