Is 2025 the Year of RWAs?

Hosted by Luke Lombe from Kasu Finance
Featuring:

• Julian Kwan (IXS)
  
  
• Thor Abassi (Zivoe)
  
  
• Rachid Ajaja (Nexera)
  
  
• Marc Vanlerberghe (Algorand Foundation)
  
  

Institutional Momentum Signals a Tipping Point

Julian Kwan, Co-Founder of IXS, opened with a clear message: RWAs have entered the institutional spotlight.

“At the DAS conference in New York, RWAs made up 99% of the conversation. It’s no longer a fringe concept, it’s the dominant narrative.” – Julian Kwan

Highlights from Julian:

• IXS has evolved into a B2B infrastructure layer powering RWA issuance, trading, and distribution for partners with 200M+ users.
  
  
• Institutional-grade partnerships include LINE, Union Chain, and multiple regulated fintech exchanges.
  
  
• Licensing and KYC are essential. "No credible issuer or investor will touch RWAs without regulatory clarity and identity verification."
  
  

Compliance: The Gateway to Institutional Scale

Rachid Ajaja, Founder & CEO of Nexera, emphasized that compliance isn’t a bottleneck, it’s a core enabler of Web3 capital markets.

“Institutions will not onboard without regulatory-grade compliance. Our focus is automating that layer, across KYC, AML, KYT, and jurisdictional checks.” – Rachid Ajaja

Nexera’s ComPilot solution:

• Aggregates 20+ KYC/AML tools into one orchestrated compliance engine.
  
  
• Supports on-chain access controls, enabling permissioned DeFi for verified participants.
  
  
• Helps projects navigate regional requirements (e.g. video KYC in Germany, privacy compliance in France).
  
  

From Treasuries to Private Credit: Next-Gen RWAs

Thor Abassi, Co-Founder of Zivoe, outlined the evolution from tokenized T-bills to high-yield consumer credit.

“ETH has underperformed the S&P since 2018. Private credit has not. That’s where yield is, and that’s what crypto capital is starting to demand.” – Thor Abassi

Zivoe focuses on:

• Tokenized exposure to non-prime U.S. consumer credit.
  
  
• Yield products backed by loans originated through a licensed U.S. partner.
  
  
• A market where $66B+ in originations occurred in the last 6 months alone.
  
  

Abstracting Blockchain for Mass Adoption

Mark van den Berg, CMO of Algorand Foundation, made it clear: blockchain must move into the background.

“No one asks how email works. Blockchain should be the same. Institutions want better rails, not more complexity.” – Mark van den Berg

Key insights:

• Projects on Algorand are tokenizing solar panels, IP rights, carbon credits, real estate, and even airline tickets, with zero blockchain branding.
  
  
• Suggested industry-wide adoption of decentralized identity credentials to make KYC portable across platforms.
  
  

Middle East: Tokenization Meets Shari’a Compliance

Rachid Ajaja also addressed tokenization in Islamic finance, a space with enormous growth potential:

“In Islamic finance, yield must come from profit-sharing, not interest. That’s changing how RWAs are structured across the Gulf.” – Rachid Ajaja

Regional insights:

• Sukuk models and rental-based yield mechanisms are being used to align tokenization with Islamic law.
  
  
• Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia are creating regulatory sandboxes to pilot compliant RWA products.
  
  
• Tokenization is enabling foreign SPVs to legally invest in under-regulated jurisdictions (e.g., Africa, Southeast Asia) from a Dubai regulatory base.
  
  

2025 Outlook: Yield, Adoption & Real Utility

The panelists agreed: the next wave of RWAs will deliver real utility, better user experience, and institution-ready infrastructure.

Key Predictions:

• Julian (IXS): The next bear market will trigger the first bull cycle for RWAs, driven by stablecoin holders seeking sustainable yield.
  
  
• Thor (Zivoe): Yield-bearing stablecoins and structured consumer credit will dominate retail-accessible RWA flows.
  
  
• Mark (Algorand): Tokenization will reach every asset class: IP, music royalties, commodities, carbon offsets.

“Real-world financial infrastructure is being rebuilt onchain, compliantly. That’s the shift.” – Julian Kwan

Closing Thoughts:

Despite the noise in the market, the data speaks for itself:

• RWAs grew 20% in 30 days.
  
  
• Stablecoin capital is migrating into real-world yield strategies.
  
  
• Institutions are already moving. Retail will follow infrastructure.

“We’re no longer talking about theory. We’re deploying solutions that unlock capital, enable transparency, and bring regulated assets on-chain.” – Julian Kwan

Get the full AMA recording here