Research Report: Fragmentation Has Become the Biggest Obstacle to the Trillion-Dollar Potential of the RWA Market

By: theblockbeats.news|2025/12/19 10:16:04
Share
copy

BlockBeats News, December 19th - A research report by RWA.io highlighted that while blockchain technology has accelerated innovation, it has also created liquidity barriers, hindering capital's free flow across networks. As a result, tokenized real-world assets (RWA) are increasingly resembling fragmented markets rather than a unified financial system.

The research found that despite representing the same underlying asset, identical or economically equivalent assets on different blockchains continue to have price divergences. Additionally, transferring capital across networks remains costly and complex. These inefficiencies impede the market's ability to self-correct through arbitrage and achieve efficient price discovery.

The report stated that one of the most apparent consequences of this fragmentation is the continual price differentiation of the same asset issued on different chains. Economically identical tokenized assets often exhibit a trading price difference of 1% to 3% across different major networks. In traditional finance, arbitrage activities would swiftly eliminate such market discrepancies. However, due to technical barriers, costs, delays, and operational risks, cross-chain arbitrage remains challenging to execute, with the cost of asset transfer often exceeding the price difference itself, leading to persistent inefficiencies.

In addition to price discovery, RWA.io estimates that transferring capital between non-interoperable chains results in a loss of 2% to 5% per transaction due to exchange fees, slippage, transfer costs, Gas fees, and timing risks. The report's model indicates an average loss of approximately 3.5% per capital reallocation. If this fragmentation pattern continues, the friction cost could siphon off around $600 million to $1.3 billion from the market annually.

Marko Vidrih, Co-Founder and COO of RWA.io, stated: "This fragmentation is the most substantial obstacle for the market to realize its trillion-dollar potential." He added, "In traditional finance, the SEPA Instant Payment directive within the EU has shown how value can move across accounts in seconds. Tokenized assets should also flow frictionlessly in a similar manner."

You may also like

IOSG: Port and New City, Two Cryptoverse Views of BNB Chain and Base

The true winner may not be any single chain itself, but those who can understand both ecosystems and freely move between them, including applications and teams.

WEEX Partners with LALIGA to Expand Global Reach and Integrate Crypto into Mainstream Sports Culture

Hong Kong, Jan. 1, 2026. WEEX has entered into a new partnership with LALIGA, as an official regional partner of LALIGA in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The agreement brings WEEX into LALIGA’s network of regional collaborators and opens the door to new ways of engaging both fans and traders during the season.

Long-standing domestic public blockchain NEO sees feud between two co-founders, with opaque finances as the core reason

Domestic AI projects are surging, while domestic public blockchains are bickering

Fed's Latest Meeting Minutes: Divergence Persists, But "Most" Officials Advocate Continued Rate Cuts

Most participants support a rate cut in December, with a few indicating that this decision was finely balanced and they might have supported standing pat. Those in favor of a rate cut generally pointed to the increased downside risks to employment seen in recent months.

4 Years of Web3 Entrepreneurship: 7 Key Takeaways

Iteration speed, user mindset, and marketing ability are more important than perfect technology.

$50 to $1 Million: How to Survive in the Meme Battlefield with 'Wallet Tracking'

My reliance is not on the luck of a single transaction skyrocketing, but on consistently capturing replicable market patterns.

Popular coins

Latest Crypto News

Read more