Tokenized Real-World Assets Show 20% Utilisation Rate When Adjusted for Structural Constraints

The Quick Take

• Katana's Matthew Fisher argues tokenized asset utilisation is near 20% after adjusting for immobile capital
• Standard on-chain metrics undercount tokenized asset activity by excluding off-contract settlement flows
• Adjusted utilisation signals tokenized RWAs are entering a more active transactional adoption phase

The tokenized real-world assets (RWA) market has expanded rapidly through 2025-26, with major institutions including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and JPMorgan Chase issuing blockchain-native representations of money market funds, Treasuries, and private credit instruments. However, the apparent on-chain utilisation rate of these assets has been widely criticised as misleadingly low when measured using raw transfer data alone. Katana's Matthew Fisher argues that once non-mobile capital—assets held to maturity, locked in regulatory custody, or serving as collateral buffers—is excluded, and off-chain settlement and netting activity is added back, effective utilisation approaches 20%, representing a meaningful step toward institutional viability.

This revised utilisation estimate carries significant implications for blockchain infrastructure providers, custody platforms, and DeFi protocols seeking to build institutional client bases. Platforms including Fireblocks and Anchorage Digital face different growth runway assumptions depending on which utilisation benchmark investors apply. For publicly listed crypto-adjacent companies including Coinbase and Galaxy Digital, a 20% adjusted utilisation rate for institutional RWA provides evidence of commercial traction that pure on-chain metrics underrepresent. The debate also affects capital allocation decisions by asset managers considering whether to launch additional tokenized product lines.

Key signals to monitor include total RWA market capitalisation growth, the proportion of Treasury and money market fund tokenisation among major institutional issuers, and whether DeFi lending protocols successfully integrate RWA collateral at scale. Regulatory clarity remains the primary gating factor—EU MiCA implementation for tokenized securities and potential US digital asset legislation will define the legal parameters under which utilisation can scale toward the 40-60% thresholds that would mark genuine market maturity and trigger mainstream institutional adoption.

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