RWA Tokenization 2026: BlackRock BUIDL Passes $2.5B

The global stock of real estate, bonds, commodities, and private credit is worth roughly $450 trillion. Less than $30 billion of it sits on a blockchain. The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) is the effort to move more of it there.

Capital markets still run on settlement cycles measured in days, liquidity confined to trading hours, and minimum investment sizes that shut out everyone but the largest institutions. Tokenization is meant to remove those limits, and in 2026 the first large products are live.

What RWA Tokenization Means

RWA tokenization represents ownership of a traditional asset, such as a Treasury bill, a commercial property, a carbon credit, or a private equity stake, as a digital token on a blockchain. The asset stays where it is. The token replaces the record-keeping around it.

That record-keeping is expensive. Custody, clearing, settlement, reconciliation, and compliance absorb hundreds of billions of dollars a year. When those functions run inside a smart contract that executes itself, can be audited, and operates around the clock, the savings repeat on every transaction over the life of the asset.

Why Now

BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, a tokenized U.S. Treasury money market fund launched in March 2024, has passed $2.5 billion in assets under management. It runs on nine blockchain networks, was accepted as collateral on Binance in November 2025, and became tradable on Uniswap in February 2026. Franklin Templeton, JPMorgan, Fidelity, and Apollo have all launched or expanded tokenized products. The NYSE has announced a dedicated venue for 24/7 trading and settlement of tokenized securities.

Regulation has caught up in parts. The GENIUS Act, passed in 2025, set the first U.S. federal framework for stablecoins, the rails that tokenized assets settle on. The Clarity Act expected in 2026 would remove further barriers. Six categories of tokenized assets have each passed $1 billion in value: private credit, commodities, U.S. Treasuries, corporate bonds, non-U.S. government debt, and institutional alternative funds.

The market has grown nearly fivefold in three years to $26.4 billion in on-chain value. Boston Consulting Group and Ripple project $18.9 trillion by 2033. Standard Chartered projects $30 trillion by 2034. Conservative estimates have the market crossing $100 billion by the end of 2026. The industry’s stated objective has shifted from proving the concept to sustaining trading volume.

Japan’s Position

Japan has built more of the legal and market infrastructure for tokenized securities than most major economies. Outside Japan this is not widely known.

The Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) already covers security token offerings (STOs). Tokens representing collective investment scheme interests are regulated like traditional securities: issuers file registration statements, produce prospectuses, and meet ongoing disclosure requirements.

The Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX), backed by SBI Holdings, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Nomura, and Daiwa Securities, runs Japan’s first secondary market for security tokens on its START platform. It began with real estate tokens and is expanding into aircraft, ships, and renewable energy assets.

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) is preparing to reclassify crypto-assets as “financial products” by 2026. That would bring them under insider trading rules and move the tax rate to the 20% that applies to capital gains, down from the current 55%. The tax change alone could free up a large amount of capital that has stayed out of the market at the higher rate.

What the Summit Will Cover

The questions go beyond financial engineering. How should capital markets be redesigned to serve wider social outcomes? Can tokenization open asset classes that have been reserved for sovereign wealth funds and endowments? What governance does programmable financial infrastructure need?

The Tech for Impact Summit, on April 26, 2026, at Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioi Conference as a partner event of SusHi Tech Tokyo, brings senior executives, policymakers, and technologists together on these questions.

Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, will speak on the infrastructure layer: what it takes to build blockchain systems able to carry trillions of dollars in tokenized assets. Cardano’s research-first approach to protocol design gives him a specific view on how financial infrastructure should be engineered to last.

Ken Shibusawa, founder of Commons Asset Management and a leading figure in Japan’s ESG investing movement, will speak on long-term investing. His position is that long-term value creation and responsible stewardship are conditions for financial innovation, not obstacles to it.

Jesper Koll, Director of Monex Group and one of the most respected analysts of the Japanese economy, will cover why Japan’s macro environment, from corporate governance reform to demographic change, is a good setting for financial innovation.

Sota Watanabe, founder of Astar Network and CEO of Startale, builds Web3 infrastructure that connects Japan’s enterprise sector with global decentralized networks.

For Financial Services Leaders

Institutions building tokenization capability now, through distribution partnerships, compliance frameworks, and technical integrations, will hold structural advantages as the market grows from billions to trillions.

BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, JPMorgan, Fidelity, and Apollo have put capital in. Banks, asset managers, insurers, and private equity firms that have not yet decided how to take part will end up using infrastructure that someone else built.

Join the Conversation

The Tech for Impact Summit is an invitation-only executive gathering for leaders working where financial innovation meets societal impact.

To explore partnership opportunities or request your invitation, visit tech4impactsummit.com/membership.

Watch highlights from previous summits: youtu.be/ujy7ZXflrt4

Seira Yun is the Founder and CEO of Socious Inc. and organizer of the Tech for Impact Summit.