RWA market momentum is strong, Hong Kong becomes the focal point

This week's report covers the period from August 1 to August 7, 2025. The RWA market has shown strong performance in user penetration and the activity of tokenized stocks, making Hong Kong the absolute focus. The "Stablecoin Regulations" have officially come into effect, opening the licensing application window, and Chinese-funded banks, brokerages, and companies listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange are intensively laying out their RWA and stablecoin businesses, frequently engaging in strategic investments, collaborations, and financing. At the same time, infrastructure construction continues to improve, project progress accelerates, and there is a clear trend of RWA and traditional finance accelerating integration, with Hong Kong actively vying for a global hub position.

Data Pivoting

RWA track panorama

As of August 8, 2025, the total market value of the RWA chain is $24.93 billion, a decrease of 1.33% compared to the same period last month, with overall stability in scale; the total number of asset holders is approximately 344,700, an increase of 19.08% compared to the same period last month, with continued acceleration in user penetration; the total number of asset issuers is 260.

Stablecoin Market

The total market capitalization of stablecoins is $258.250 billion, a month-on-month increase of 4.96%; the monthly transfer volume is $3.3 trillion, a month-on-month surge of 16.26%; the total number of monthly active addresses and holders is approximately 39.93 million and 188 million, both showing a slight month-on-month increase of 2.23% and 2.96%, respectively. The growth is highly correlated, indicating a likely organic increase in active users. The leading stablecoins are USDT, USDC, and USDe, among which the market caps of USDT and USDC have increased slightly by 3.29% and 3.78%, respectively, compared to the same period last month, while the market cap of USDe has soared by 79.60% compared to the same period last month.

tokenized stock market

The total market value of tokenized stocks is $374 million, a slight decrease of 3.05% compared to the same period last month; the monthly transfer volume is approximately $330 million, a sharp increase of 47.56% compared to the same period last month, showing characteristics of high turnover; the total number of monthly active addresses and holders is approximately 55,900 and 60,600, respectively, with a ratio close to 1, indicating strong user stickiness, with growth rates of 17.31% and 20.42% compared to the same period last month, revealing strong ecological growth momentum. The stock with the highest issuance scale is EXOD( from the self-custody platform Exodus Movement), which has reached $264 million.

Regulatory News

The "Stablecoin Bill" in Hong Kong officially came into effect on August 1st. This is a licensing system for the establishment of fiat-backed stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong, improving the regulatory framework for virtual asset activities in Hong Kong to maintain financial stability while promoting financial innovation.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has issued the "Regulatory Guidelines for Licensed Stablecoin Issuers", clarifying the various thresholds for issuer license applications. Certain money issuers are expected to be the first to apply for and obtain stablecoin issuer licenses. In addition, Chinese-funded banks, sandbox testing companies, large central state-owned enterprises, and major internet companies are also actively preparing to apply. Brokers will initially mainly provide services such as stablecoin trading, custody, and financing. As of the end of July, 44 financial institutions have upgraded to the No. 1 securities trading license.

Hong Kong may narrow the scope of its first batch of stablecoin licenses to three or four companies. Several Chinese banks' branches in Hong Kong and Chinese securities firms' branches in Hong Kong are eager to participate in compliant stablecoin businesses, involving stablecoin issuance, custody, and other services.

The U.S. SEC has issued temporary guidelines for cryptocurrency accounting, stating that certain stablecoins may be treated as cash. According to the latest guidance, holding certain stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar, if these stablecoins have a guaranteed redemption right and their value is anchored to another class of assets, can be classified as cash equivalents.

Although the U.S. GENIUS Act prohibits stablecoin issuers from providing passive income to users through staking or depositing balances, some large trading platforms continue to offer users an annual yield of 3%-5% through "reward programs." They explain that what they provide is a "reward" rather than "interest," thus not violating the new regulations. Senate staff indicated that the act only regulates the behavior of issuers and does not impose restrictions on secondary market service providers.

Local Dynamics

A certain travel platform has signed a strategic cooperation memorandum for virtual assets with a licensed financial institution in Hong Kong. The two parties will carry out in-depth cooperation around three major directions: RWA tokenization, stablecoin payment applications, and compliant digital currency issuance. This is also the first systematic exploration of the integration of cutting-edge digital financial tools such as RWA and stablecoins in the domestic travel industry.

A certain pharmaceutical company officially signed a strategic cooperation letter of intent with a certain digital asset platform, and both parties intend to jointly explore the pilot project for the tokenization of RWA, with "future revenue rights of innovative drug R&D" as the underlying asset in Hong Kong, which is the first of its kind in mainland China.

A Hong Kong-listed company announced that it has signed a share subscription agreement with an RWA tokenization fintech company, conditionally agreeing to subscribe for shares issued by the latter. The company also announced a financing of HKD 653.3 million, focusing on the development of blockchain, RWA, and virtual asset businesses.

Another Hong Kong-listed company announced a strategic investment of $5 million in a fintech company, aimed at supporting its Web3 technology and cross-border payment business, while also announcing the deepening of its RWA strategic layout.

The RWA registration and registration platform officially launched in Hong Kong on August 7, dedicated to achieving a comprehensive service system for the digitization, assetization, and financialization process of RWA asset tokenization. On the same day, three standard projects in the Web 3.0 field were initiated, including "RWA Tokenization Business Guidelines," "RWA Tokenization Technical Specifications," and "Blockchain-based Stablecoin Cross-border Payment Technical Specifications."

Project Progress

A major trading platform has announced that it will launch new services in the United States in the coming months, including tokenized stocks, prediction markets, derivatives, and early token sales, with plans to expand its core trading application beyond the realm of cryptocurrency.

The issuer of a certain tokenized asset stated that a certain fund has paid over $62.5 million in dividends to date, with the dividend payment scale reaching $9.3 million in July, and it is currently available on seven blockchains.

A licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore will launch the first regulated fintech loan tokenized product in Southeast Asia. The token is issued by a Singaporean company, with the underlying asset being receivables from a regulated P2P lending platform in Indonesia, with an expected annual yield of 12%.

A certain yield platform officially launched an innovative yield product that combines real-world assets with crypto-native strategies. The platform utilizes an on-chain U.S. Treasury fund from a certain asset management company to achieve a new model of regulated on-chain yield.

A certain network open end-to-end all-in-one infrastructure creates a universal trading layer for RWAs, stablecoins, and digital assets, with a certain payment company as one of the first cornerstone partners.

A certain oracle network has officially launched real-time data streams, providing sub-second latency price data for US stocks and ETFs, including major assets such as SPY, QQQ, AAPL, MSFT, and NVDA. This data now covers 37 blockchain networks and supports the construction of tokenized stock trading platforms, perpetual contracts, synthetic ETFs, and other innovative financial products.

A certain digital asset settlement network has officially welcomed its first batch of institutional clients, including well-known market makers, OTC trading platforms, and liquidity providers. The platform is based on a U.S. Treasury bond fund issued by a certain company, supporting 24/7 real-time settlement and "yield in transit" functionality.

A certain network has officially launched a new protocol on-chain messaging system, aimed at providing native compliance privacy and communication capabilities for RWA scenarios such as real estate, stablecoin settlement, and cross-border payments.

A tokenized stock platform announced the successful completion of the U.S. Securities Token Offering (STO) filing, obtaining compliance qualifications to issue security tokens to qualified investors in the United States.

Insights Highlights

1. Hong Kong is fully embracing the RWA wave, leveraging its unique policy advantages and position as an international financial center to strive to become a global hub for RWA. Experts believe that Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" advantage, common law system, and its role as a "super hub" connecting the vast assets of mainland China with global capital markets provide unparalleled conditions for its RWA development.

2. Gold tokenization is a new method to address the pain points of enterprises (, especially gold mining companies ), in holding physical gold. It leverages blockchain technology to allow gold assets to be partially owned and easily traded like digital assets, thereby increasing liquidity and accessibility. Successful gold RWA projects require innovative economic model designs and cannot simply replicate traditional gold ETFs.

3. The current RWA boom is surging, with its core value acting as a bridge between traditional finance and the crypto world, presenting enormous potential. Market opportunities are mainly concentrated in regulatory-friendly regions and industries with comprehensive data and clear value. Experts point out that successful RWA projects need to address the full-chain liquidity issue, and the key challenge lies in building trust.

4. The recently passed GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act in the United States have brought significant changes to the cryptocurrency industry, particularly in the RWA sector. The GENIUS Act injects substantial funds into the stablecoin market and solidifies the foundation for digital payments, while the CLARITY Act puts an end to regulatory ambiguity, opening new opportunities for small and medium enterprises to utilize RWA for financing.

5. The on-chain RWA token holdings are highly concentrated, appearing exclusive on the surface, but are in fact a necessary result of meeting stringent financial regulatory compliance requirements and improving operational efficiency; while this "membership club" model conflicts with the open spirit of blockchain, it ensures the feasibility of the system and the quality of the assets.

6. A company submitted an IPO application to the SEC, marking the transition of the RWA track from concept to large-scale implementation. The company has built a moat of technology + compliance + products with its share in the tokenized private credit market, self-developed financial public chain, compliant stablecoin, and asset circulation platform.

7. A company founded by a well-known figure in the DeFi space focuses on compliant tokenized asset management ( RWA ). Its core strategy is to transform traditional financial assets into on-chain tokens, leveraging the advantages of blockchain technology to improve efficiency, reduce transaction costs, and enhance liquidity while maintaining compliance.

8. Water assets have the characteristics of stable returns and continuous cash flow, focusing on new investment opportunities combined with RWA. Water assets have the feature of data visualization, providing a solid foundation for their deep integration with blockchain technology; furthermore, the stable cash flow of water assets and strong predictability of returns endow the assets with rigid demand and counter-cyclical characteristics.