Could tokenizing unique real-world assets make DeFi exciting again?
According to Forman, 500 to 1000 different RWA pilots are set to launch in the next couple years
2023 has been a “huge year” for tokenization in decentralized finance, Ben Forman says.
The ParaFi Capital managing partner says he is surprised that most tokenization activity arrived “post-FTX,” when institutional interest seemed to be “waning in the space.”
Speaking to Blockworks on the Empire podcast ( Spotify / Apple ), Forman says that now, institutional entities like JPMorgan, Invesco and KKR give a consistent answer to the question: “What are you most excited about in the blockchain space?”
“Eight or nine out of 10 times, you’re going to hear: ‘ tokenization of real-world assets .’”
According to Forman, 150 to 200 different teams are building in the real-world asset (RWA) category today, “with probably 500 to 1000 different pilots going on behind that,” set to launch in the “coming couple of years.”
Read More: What are real-world assets? DeFi’s newest yield
Forman says he sees growing interest in the tokenization of traditional assets in the form of “tokenized gold, tokenized treasuries, tokenized LP stakes and funds.”
But another “fascinating category” that has developed, he says, is the tokenization of non-financial assets. The California DMV, he says as an example, tokenized 14 million automobile titles . He then mentions the tokenization of university diplomas, identity credentials and concert tickets as further examples.
These are assets that hold value, he says, but don’t have the same kind of established capital markets infrastructure as bonds, equities, currencies and commodities.
“A lot of these assets are just going to skip over legacy financial market infrastructure with banks and move right on-chain,” he says.
“I would not be surprised if in two to three years from now,” he says, “when people evaluate layer-ones and applications, the most important metric will be [total value locked] of real-world assets.”
Do everything on-chain
Forman says that he sees “ a lot of private credit funds ” examining blockchain for its efficiency advantages in securitization, sending interest payments and disintermediating fund administrators.
“They’re kind of doing what they normally do,” he says, “but sitting on top of a blockchain for efficiency.”
Investor Santiago Santos notes one major advantage of moving RWAs on-chain: “You could price these things more efficiently and you can measure risk in real time.”
Read more: Real world assets in DeFi: Buzzwords or the real deal?
“The key unlock here,” says Santos, “is there’s more transparency.”
“It’s a 24/7 market. There’s more capital flowing in and out of these things. The price should be a better reflection of risk.”
“That opens up a whole variety of instruments if you do everything on-chain.”
Forman says that while Treasurys are the “next logical thing to come on-chain,” he’s more excited about “the longer tail” possibilities of less conventional asset classes.
“You have these creators on YouTube that are getting paid every month,” he says as an example.
“There’s a company that’s effectively going to creators and saying, ‘Hey, we’ll buy 49%, or some percent, of these future cash flows, which are modelable and predictable…you can take a lump sum up front and then we participate pro rata going forward.”
Forman suggests that asset classes that don’t exist in traditional capital markets are the ones that could be the most interesting on-chain, “because you can get transparency around payments… [making] this basically a securitization.”
“All the monthly cash flows can get distributed on-chain.”
Don’t miss the next big story – join our free daily newsletter .
Follow Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial with the latest news from the courtroom .
- Empire
- real world assets
- Tokenization
- TradFi
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
New spot margin trading pair — HOLO/USDT!
FUN drops by 32.34% within 24 hours as it faces a steep short-term downturn
- FUN plunged 32.34% in 24 hours to $0.008938, marking a 541.8% monthly loss amid prolonged bearish trends. - Technical breakdowns, elevated selling pressure, and forced liquidations highlight deteriorating market sentiment and risk-off behavior. - Analysts identify key support below $0.0080 as critical, with bearish momentum confirmed by RSI (<30) and MACD indicators. - A trend-following backtest strategy proposes short positions based on technical signals to capitalize on extended downward trajectories.

OPEN has dropped by 189.51% within 24 hours during a significant market pullback
- OPEN's price plummeted 189.51% in 24 hours to $0.8907, marking its largest intraday decline in history. - The token fell 3793.63% over 7 days, matching identical monthly and yearly declines, signaling severe bearish momentum. - Technical analysts cite broken support levels and lack of bullish catalysts as key drivers of the sustained sell-off. - Absence of stabilizing volume or reversal patterns leaves the market vulnerable to further downward pressure.

New spot margin trading pair — LINEA/USDT!
Trending news
MoreCrypto prices
More








