Tokenized Assets Surge, but Investors Face a Hidden Ownership Gap

Tokenized real-world assets have grown nearly tenfold in three years, with Ethereum retaining the largest market share. Collateralized products dominate tokenized equities, but owning a stock token does not necessarily confer shareholder rights. Custody arrangements, regulatory restrictions and limited DeFi integration remain obstacles to broader adoption. The market for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) has reached $46.3 billion, up 947.6% over three years, according to Token Terminal data. The expansion reflects growing adoption of blockchain-based financial instruments, but tokenized equities reveal an important distinction between digital exposure and legal ownership.