tl;dr
Ethereum holds a dominant position in the real-world assets (RWA) space, with 57% of on-chain RWA value, excluding stablecoins, and a massive $160 billion in stablecoin supply. Stablecoins are the backbone of the RWA ecosystem, with 90% of RWAs being stablecoins. Ethereum's lead increases to 95% w...
Ethereum is not just another blockchain—it’s the front-runner in a high-stakes race to dominate real-world assets, and the numbers are staggering. Ryan Sean Adams, co-founder of Bankless, declared this week that Ethereum is “winning the war for real-world assets, and nothing is close.” With a 57% market share of on-chain real-world asset (RWA) value, Ethereum is outpacing all competitors, and that lead only widens when you factor in its layer-2 networks.
Let’s break that down. Right now, Ethereum holds $28.5 billion in on-chain RWA value (excluding stablecoins), a record high. But the real kicker? The stablecoin supply on Ethereum is a mind-blowing $160 billion, with $5 billion added just last week alone. Stablecoins, which are digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, are the backbone of the RWA ecosystem. Adams isn’t exaggerating when he says, “Stablecoins are the king of RWAs, the OGs.” They’re the foundation, and 90% of all RWAs are stablecoins. That’s not just a statistic—it’s a network effect.
Here’s the catch: Institutions don’t just follow trends; they chase liquidity. And Ethereum has it in spades. When you include Ethereum’s layer-2 networks (like Arbitrum and Optimism) and other Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-based chains, Ethereum’s share of stablecoin value soars to 95%. Even newer players like Stripe Tempo, Circle Arc, and Plasma Tether are built on EVM, reinforcing Ethereum’s dominance.
But stablecoins are just the beginning. Tokenized Treasurys—a category where U.S. government bonds are digitized—are another area where Ethereum leads. With $5.2 billion in tokenized Treasurys on the network, Ethereum holds a 70% market share. That jumps to 86% when EVM-compatible networks are included. Big names like BlackRock, WisdomTree, Franklin, and Ondo are all issuing Treasurys on Ethereum, a sign that institutional trust in the network is growing.
Gold, too, is getting a digital makeover—and Ethereum is leading the charge. Tokenized gold on Ethereum is now worth $2.4 billion, with supply doubling since the start of the year. Ethereum’s dominance in tokenized commodities is even more pronounced: 77% of the market, rising to 97% when including layer-2 networks like Polygon.
Tokenized stocks, while still in their infancy, are about to explode. Right now, on-chain value for tokenized equities is just $420 million. But heavyweights like Robinhood, eToro, and Coinbase are preparing to list tokenized securities on Ethereum’s layer-2 networks. BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Fund (BUIDL) and Fidelity’s new tokenized Treasury fund (FDIT) are already on Ethereum, signaling a seismic shift in how traditional finance is embracing blockchain.
And here’s the kicker: Ethereum’s native asset, ETH, is poised to benefit from this RWA dominance. Adams argues that if Ethereum becomes the “world’s ledger”—a system where everything from gold to stocks is tokenized—then ETH, with lower issuance than Bitcoin or gold and stronger censorship resistance, could surpass both as a store of value.
It’s not just speculation. Over the past five months, digital asset treasuries—entities that see the long game—have bought 4% of the total ETH supply. Meanwhile, retail traders, often quick to panic, have been selling.
Ethereum isn’t just winning the war for RWAs—it’s building a new financial system, one where the lines between the digital and physical worlds blur. And for those watching closely, the question isn’t whether Ethereum will dominate. It’s how fast the rest of the world will catch up.