Wall Street has invested more than$7 billion into tokenized real-world asset (RWA) funds, highlighting growing institutional interest in blockchain technology. However, despite this rapid growth, less than 1% of those assets are actively being used in decentralized finance (DeFi).

At the same time, DeFi has shown remarkable resilience. Even after suffering a record 99 hacks during the second quarter of 2026, the value of tokenized assets actively deployed in DeFi reached a new all-time high of $3.97 billion.

Most institutional tokenized funds, including BlackRock's BUIDL, Circle's USYC, and Franklin Templeton's iBENJI, remain largely inactive within DeFi ecosystems. In contrast, private credit products such as Maple's syrupUSDC and syrupUSDT are widely used as collateral, lending assets, and yield-generating instruments.

Industry analysts believe the tokenization market could grow to $5.5 trillion by 2030. If more institutions allow their tokenized assets to integrate with open DeFi protocols, decentralized finance could become a major infrastructure layer for traditional financial products. However, security risks and institutional preference for permissioned systems remain significant challenges.