RWAs Break Into DeFi’s Top Five by TVL in 2025

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Real-world asset (RWA) protocols have become one of DeFi’s biggest winners in 2025, overtaking decentralized exchanges to rank as the fifth-largest category by total value locked, according to DefiLlama.

RWAs now hold roughly $17 billion in TVL, up from $12 billion in Q4 2024. Tokenized Treasurys and private credit have shifted from niche experiments to core DeFi infrastructure. As DefiLlama noted, RWAs weren’t even in the top 10 categories at the start of the year.

Kronos Research CIO Vincent Liu said the growth is driven by balance-sheet incentives, not speculation, as higher-for-longer interest rates and clearer regulation make onchain yield increasingly attractive to institutions.

[bonk]

17 billion thats a crazy shift