RWAS: THE NEXT LIQUIDITY CHANNEL

Summary from the TLDR Crypto newsletter

Wintermute categorizes RWAs as crypto's next structural liquidity channel, following VC/ICO, stablecoins ($120B net issuance in a single year), and ETFs/DATs ($63B net flows plus $115B treasury accumulation), noting that onchain tokenized value has tripled to ~$30B even as the stablecoin base contracted. At 18 months of age, the RWA channel shows trailing-12-month inflows of 0.9% of market cap, tracking ahead of DATs and just behind ETFs at the same stage. Prior channels delivered asset-specific buyers, while tokenization places capital inside the system, where purchases of tokenized Treasuries or equities can rotate into BTC or alts with reduced friction, aided by tokenized assets now being accepted as collateral across major venues and DeFi protocols. If historical timing holds, peak RWA inflows are still 2 to 3 years out, and balance-sheet holders as the dominant cohort suggest the resulting cycle runs longer and with less volatility than prior ones.