RWA Industry Faces Reality Check: Not All Growth Is Real
**Real-World Asset tokenization needs a reality check**, according to Polygon Labs' Global Head of Payments & RWAs.
The **RWA revolution** requires three critical foundations:
- **Verifiable assets** with proven ownership
- **Clear regulatory frameworks** for compliance
- **Actual usage** beyond speculation
**Current challenges** include:
- Many projects lack real substance behind growth claims
- Tokenizing assets like US Treasuries offers **no competitive moat**
- Missing infrastructure for custody, trading, and redemption
**Real estate emerges as the sweet spot** for tokenization due to high value, illiquidity, and suitability for fractional ownership.
**Key insight**: Intermediaries won't disappear - they'll evolve. Winners will be protocols embedding KYC, legal logic, and risk scoring into smart contracts.
**The bottom line**: Programmable finance must be matched with programmable trust. Without verified data and legal enforceability, blockchain remains "code floating in a vacuum."
Read the full analysis: [Cointelegraph Op-Ed](https://cointelegraph.com/news/not-all-rwa-growth-is-real-and-the-industry-knows-it)