TL;DR
Recognizing the pivotal role of CEXs in driving RWA adoption, IXS has long championed exchange integrations as part of its strategic roadmap.
In November 2024, during a community AMA, IXS announced integrations with Asia’s largest crypto exchanges. Julian Kwan, CEO of IXS, explained during the AMA, “These exchanges bring the user base; we bring the licenses, the tech, and the assets in demand.” (November 2024 AMA Recap)
This reaffirmed IXS’s commitment to securing CEX integration, citing this as a top priority to enhance token accessibility, visibility, and liquidity. That vision is now being realized.
The demand for tokenized Real-World Assets (RWAs) is rapidly gaining momentum, driven by institutional investors seeking yield, liquidity, and diversification. However, while tokenization offers the promise of fractional ownership, efficiency, and global accessibility, one critical barrier has slowed institutional adoption—access.
Centralized exchanges (CEXs) are one of the keys to removing this barrier and unlocking mass adoption of RWAs. These platforms offer the liquidity, security, and familiarity that both institutional and retail investors require when exploring emerging asset classes. Integrating RWAs into CEXs bridges the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi), enabling investors to engage with tokenized assets with the same ease and confidence they expect from traditional markets.
Centralized exchanges (CEXs) have long recognized the potential of tokenized RWAs, viewing them as a gateway to bridging traditional and digital markets. However, the journey to integrating RWAs on CEXs has not been without challenges.
Some early efforts by leading platforms to launch tokenized stock products encountered regulatory scrutiny and operational hurdles. These experiences offered important lessons on the critical need for compliance-first approaches:
These early market efforts reflect the complex regulatory landscape surrounding tokenized RWAs. They also highlight an essential truth: compliance, licensing, and investor protection are not optional—they are foundational.
For institutions and sophisticated investors to confidently engage with tokenized RWAs, they require:
This is where Union Chain’s CEX integration model stands apart.
As a founding member of Union Chain, IXS is delivering a fully licensed, regulatory-compliant ecosystem for tokenized RWAs, integrated with leading CEX platforms across Southeast Asia.
Rather than rushing to market, Union Chain is building a secure, scalable foundation designed to meet institutional requirements and unlock sustainable growth.
While DeFi platforms have made great strides in facilitating tokenized asset trading, institutional investors often remain cautious. The volatility, fragmented liquidity, and complex user interfaces of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) can present significant hurdles. This is where CEXs offer a crucial advantage::
Without the participation of leading CEXs, tokenized RWAs risk remaining a niche innovation, inaccessible to the mainstream institutional finance sector.
As a founding member of Union Chain, a next-generation RWA Layer 2 blockchain powered by ZKsync, IXS has successfully integrated with three leading CEXs in Southeast Asia—Coinhako, Coins.ph, and Indodax. Each platform represents a strategic gateway to vast user bases and capital inflows from rapidly growing markets:
As one of Southeast Asia’s most trusted platforms, Coinhako provides a secure, regulated on-ramp for institutional and retail investors to access tokenized RWAs. Singapore’s progressive regulatory framework positions Coinhako as a vital hub for institutional capital exploring tokenization.
Coins.ph is a dominant force in the Philippines, a country with a rapidly growing digital asset ecosystem. Its extensive fiat-to-crypto infrastructure bridges traditional finance with tokenized assets, providing unparalleled access to retail and institutional investors alike.
Indonesia represents one of Southeast Asia’s largest crypto markets, and Indodax stands as the leading exchange within this ecosystem. Its support for IDR trading pairs ensures that tokenized RWAs can seamlessly tap into the country’s robust demand for alternative assets.
Combined, these exchanges offer access to over 24 million users across markets that are increasingly pivotal in the global digital asset economy.
The integrations facilitated by Union Chain represent a watershed moment for institutional RWA adoption. Bringing tokenized RWAs to trusted, regulated CEXs does more than expand accessibility; it fundamentally reshapes the landscape of institutional finance:
Institutional-quality tokenized assets, previously confined to closed platforms or fragmented DEX markets, are now available on platforms with millions of verified users. This democratizes access, enabling both institutions and retail investors to gain exposure to RWAs with the security and simplicity of CEX platforms.
Union Chain serves as the connective layer between regulated RWA platforms and CEX infrastructure. This hybrid approach merges the security and compliance of TradFi with the efficiency and programmability of DeFi, reducing friction and creating a seamless gateway into tokenized finance.
By integrating with Southeast Asia’s largest exchanges, IXS and Union Chain unlock new liquidity pools from markets historically underserved by traditional financial systems. These platforms facilitate local currency transactions, allowing tokenized RWAs to tap into diverse capital sources and fostering price discovery.
For institutional investors accustomed to the operational standards of traditional markets, CEX integrations lower the barrier to entry. With custody solutions, fiat gateways, and regulated environments in place, RWAs are increasingly positioned to become a core allocation within institutional portfolios.
The integration of tokenized RWAs into CEXs via Union Chain is more than an infrastructure upgrade; it is a paradigm shift. It lays the foundation for a future where tokenized private equity, real estate, and fixed-income products are as easily accessible as equities and ETFs.
As IXS continues to drive innovation within Union Chain, it is not merely facilitating transactions—it is redefining how institutions engage with value, unlocking global access to tokenized finance.
The bridge is built. Institutional capital is crossing. And the future of RWAs has arrived.
Contact the IXS team today to explore how our institutional-grade liquidity solutions and Union Chain integrations can transform your RWA investment strategy. Contact us