Industry leaders discussed demand for tokenized real-world assets (RWA) during a Consensus Hong Kong 2026 panel featuring Evan Auyang (Group President at Animoca Brands), Christian Rau (Senior Vice President, Digital Assets and Blockchain at Mastercard), Nicola White (VP of Crypto Institutions, Robinhood) and moderator RedcoStone CEO Marcin Kazfomierc.
The panel echoed BlackRock COO Rob Goldstein’s bold claim: Digital ledgers are the most exciting development in finance since double-entry bookkeeping 700 years ago.
Today, tokenized real assets (RWAs) remain a staid institutional field. Demand centers on tokenized money market funds, US Treasuries, stablecoin integrations and collateral optimization products like BlackRock’s BUIDL and offerings from Robinhood/Bitstamp highlight the trend.
Retail participation is lagging, with few participants raising their hand to confirm they have tokenized RWAs in their wallets. Panelists pointed to Europe’s clear rules as a launching pad for tokenized IPOs, while private credit, real estate, art and private equity show strong future potential, especially as companies stay private longer and demand for fractional, 24/7 access grows.
Consensus: RWAs have moved from hype to real utility for institutions. The next wave of mainstream retail onboarding could unlock trillions in illiquid markets as barriers come down.
