Why Real World Assets (Don't) Lie on the Blockchain?

The initial target customers for RWAs (Real World Assets) are DAOs and institutional treasuries, not retail investors, as institutions already have access to traditional markets

Current successful RWA products focus on globally recognized assets with strong price oracles and established regulatory frameworks, rather than complex localized assets like real estate

Key challenges include building trust, establishing reliable price oracles, and creating robust legal frameworks to protect token holders’ rights

The industry needs to start with “baby steps” - focusing first on simpler products with clear price discovery before moving to more complex assets

Abu Dhabi is emerging as an important hub for RWA innovation due to crypto-friendly regulations and institutional support

Blockchain doesn’t prevent lying about underlying assets, but provides transparency for on-chain transactions and ownership

The RWA sector needs more infrastructure development, including better interoperability between chains and standardized implementation frameworks

Liquidity remains a major challenge that needs to be solved, potentially through synthetic products and better market infrastructure

Success in RWAs requires strong institutional backing and bulletproof legal frameworks to ensure tokens have real enforceability

The industry should focus more on customer journey and product-market fit rather than just technical capabilities

Current RWA market is still niche with few scaled products - mostly concentrated in stablecoins and basic financial products