Cardano and Stellar are aggressively expanding their presence in the real world asset (RWA) tokenization market, with both blockchain platforms announcing major initiatives and partnerships.

The Cardano ecosystem recently approved a proposal from Genius Yield protocol to enhance its RWA capabilities. The protocol’s second milestone in RWA swaps focuses on asset auditing and ownership verification processes. Future developments include an online onboarding portal for asset owners and a system for award distribution.

Meanwhile, the Stellar Development Foundation has set ambitious goals for 2025, targeting $3 billion in RWA value on-chain – more than ten times the $290 million recorded at the end of 2024. The platform aims to power $110 billion in RWA volume by year-end.

Stellar is building on existing partnerships with Franklin Templeton and Wisdom Tree while welcoming new tokenization specialists including Paxos, Ondo, Etherfuse and SG Forge, the blockchain innovation division of Société Générale.

Both platforms are focusing on increasing liquidity in traditionally illiquid markets through tokenization. Cardano’s initiatives include Empowa, which finances real estate in Africa, and diamond tokenization projects.

Industry experts project significant growth potential for RWA tokenization. The Boston Consulting Group estimates the market value of tokenizing illiquid assets could reach $16 trillion.

Established in 2014, Stellar specializes in fast, low-cost cross-border transactions, while Cardano continues developing its ecosystem for various tokenization applications.