After real-world assets are on the chain, the next step is not to enable more people to buy them, but to allow them to play a greater financial role on the chain.
In the past, the core selling point of tokenized products such as government bonds and money market funds was to have traditional assets exist in the form of digital tokens on the blockchain. However, as the relevant infrastructure gradually improves, the industry is beginning to explore a more advanced use: using these assets as collateral to connect with lending, margin, and liquidity management systems.
On October 13, Citigroup pointed out in a study on tokenized collateral that institutional tokenization is shifting from pilot to actual operation. By combining tokenized assets with regulated on-chain settlement funds, financial institutions are expected to achieve faster asset delivery and allow income-generating assets to enter the collateral management process.
This means that the value of tokenized assets may no longer be limited to the issuance stage, but will begin to extend to the circulation of funds in financial markets. 
Why is collateral more important than "issuing tokens"?
In traditional finance, when institutions engage in borrowing, derivative trading, and margin settlements, they often need to provide collateral assets that meet certain requirements. Whether an asset is accepted, how it is valued, and when the settlement is completed can all affect the efficiency of capital usage.
If an asset has been tokenized but cannot be recognized and accepted by other financial applications, its utility remains limited.
However, when tokenized assets such as government bonds can enter lending, margin, or liquidity management processes, the same asset can take on additional financial functions beyond simply generating income. There is also an opportunity to establish closer connections between asset issuance, collateral, settlement, and capital deployment through smart contracts.
DeFi is facing new competition for collateral
In the past, collateral in the DeFi lending market mainly came from crypto assets like BTC and ETH. These assets are characterized by around-the-clock trading, but their price volatility can also trigger chain liquidations during market downturns.
Tokenized government bonds and other real-world assets provide different options. Their value is linked to traditional financial assets, and some products even have income-generating attributes, thus having the potential to attract institutions that need to manage cash, margin, and risk exposure.
However, traditional assets do not automatically become eligible collateral just by being on the chain. Issuer rules, asset redemption arrangements, custody structures, price oracles, regulatory requirements, and secondary market liquidity will all affect their actual usage scope.
The next stage of competition for RWA may not just be about who issues more assets, but about who can truly enable these assets to enter borrowing, settlement, and capital management processes. When tokenized assets can be held, collateralized, and called upon on the chain, they begin to transform from mere digital certificates into part of financial infrastructure.
If you are also paying attention to the Crypto market and want to participate in trading or asset allocation, you can register through the following exclusive channels and enjoy discounts:
Binance: Register through the exclusive link and fill in the invitation code aicoin668 to enjoy a 10% commission rebate.
Registration link: https://jump.do/zh-Hans/xlink-proxy?id=3
Benefit group: https://www.aicoin.com/link/chat?cid=gmLgwvKD1
OKX: Register through the AiCoin exclusive link to enjoy a permanent 20% commission rebate.
Registration link: https://jump.do/zh-Hans/xlink-proxy?id=2
Benefit group: https://aicoin.com/link/chat?cid=l61eM4owQ
Bitget: Register through the AiCoin exclusive channel to enjoy a 10% fee rebate
Registration link: https://jump.do/zh-Hans/xlink-proxy?id=6
Benefit group: https://aicoin.com/link/chat?cid=N63yYYKQE
You are also welcome to join AiCoin-related communities to get more information on new coins from exchanges and earning opportunities:
Official Telegram community: https://t.me/aicoin_support
AiCoin Chinese Twitter: https://x.com/AiCoinzh
The content of this article represents only the author's personal views and does not represent the platform's stance. The opinions, conclusions, and suggestions in the text are for investors' reference only and do not constitute any investment advice related to this platform. The market has risks; investment should be cautious.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到[email protected]，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
