Top RWA Projects & Protocols to Watch (Ondo, Centrifuge, Securitize)

Christian Amezcua
Oct 20
6 min read

1) Why these names (and how to evaluate them)

Not every “tokenization” pitch warrants attention. The projects worth tracking in 2025 share three traits:

Live, regulated products or credible institutional partnerships (not pilots that never leave a deck).
Operational depth—issuance, compliance, data/ reporting, and custody integrations that stand up to real workflows.
Transparent, verifiable facts—clear documentation, public trackers, and disclosures.

By that bar, Ondo Finance, Centrifuge, and Securitize are practical to watch right now. Each targets a different layer of the RWA stack—yield products (Ondo), infrastructure for real-world credit & funds (Centrifuge), and regulated issuance/transfer agency for digital securities (Securitize)—and all three have shipped real product, not vaporware. Bloomberg+6Ondo Finance+6Centrifuge+6

2) Ondo Finance — tokenized cash equivalents with real utility

What it is: Ondo builds tokenized cash-equivalent and fund wrappers, with its flagship USDY structured as a tokenized note backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries and bank demand deposits. The appeal is straightforward: familiar underlying assets, 24/7 operability, and programmatic settlement on public chains. Ondo Finance+1

Why it matters now: Cash management is the first RWA category with obvious product–market fit on-chain. USDY and Ondo’s broader lineup sit exactly at that intersection: operational liquidity + transparent collateral. Independent explainers consistently frame Ondo’s value as turning T-bills into interoperable, yield-bearing tokens usable across chains—while acknowledging ongoing U.S. regulatory constraints and liquidity-building realities. In other words, useful today, with eyes open on limits. CCN.com

What to watch:

Chain reach and integrations (wallets, custodians, exchanges, DeFi venues) that improve secondary liquidity.
Disclosure cadence around reserves and mechanics (to keep the product squarely in “cash-equivalent,” not “black box”).
Jurisdictional distribution—where USDY (and similar wrappers) can be offered compliantly.

Bottom line: Ondo’s focus on tokenized treasuries/cash equivalents is grounded and live; it’s about plumbing and access, not narratives. Ondo Finance+1

3) Centrifuge — infrastructure for tokenized credit & fund products

What it is: Centrifuge provides infrastructure to tokenize, manage, and invest in RWAs, with tooling that spans issuance (RWA Launchpad), token standards (deRWA tokens), and multichain connectivity. This is infrastructure, not a single product—aimed at bringing private credit, funds, and other real-world exposures on-chain with transparent data models. Centrifuge+2Centrifuge+2

What’s live:

Centrifuge V3 delivers unified multichain RWA infrastructure (powered by Wormhole), a concrete step toward portability and developer usability. Centrifuge
Expansion beyond Ethereum: Centrifuge extended tokenized products to Solana, starting with a $400M treasury fund—evidence of practical, chain-agnostic distribution aligned with where liquidity actually sits. CoinDesk
Ongoing security work and audits (e.g., CFG token review) indicate a maturing posture on contract quality—important for institutions and regulators alike. Cantina

Why it matters now: Private-credit tokenization isn’t plug-and-play. You need issuer tooling, identity/permissioning, reporting, and secondary-market hooks. Centrifuge’s roadmap targets exactly those pain points, and recent partnerships/expansions support a “from launch to liquidity” pipeline rather than a one-off mint.

What to watch:

Standardization of data flows (on-chain events reconciled with off-chain servicing/valuation).
Liquidity venues and market-making for real secondary trading—not just mint/redeem.
Issuer mix (SME credit, funds, treasuries) and the quality of servicer/administrator integrations.

Bottom line: Centrifuge is an infrastructure play aimed at repeatable, compliant issuance and cross-chain distribution—useful where the market is actually adopting RWAs today. Centrifuge+2Centrifuge+2

4) Securitize — regulated issuance & transfer agent for digital securities

What it is: Securitize operates as a regulated tokenization and transfer-agent platform used by marquee asset managers to issue tokenized funds and securities. It’s the “TradFi-grade” side of the stack: onboarding, compliance, cap-table/share-registry functions, and controlled secondary transfer mechanics. Recent reporting underscores Securitize’s central role in major tokenized products and potential corporate moves. Bloomberg+1

What’s live:

BlackRock’s BUIDL (a tokenized money-market-style fund) is issued via Securitize and has grown into the multi-billion-dollar range; recent coverage pegs it at ~$2.8B+—a credible signal that tokenized cash equivalents can scale under regulated wrappers. Yahoo Finance
Strategic interest continues: ARK Venture Fund disclosed an investment in Securitize, reflecting confidence in tokenization infrastructure as a category. CoinDesk

Why it matters now: Institutions don’t abandon compliance stacks—they extend them. Securitize’s footprint with registered offerings, transfer-agent responsibilities, and institutional distribution is exactly the connective tissue most large managers need to operationalize tokenization.

What to watch:

Jurisdictional expansion and secondary trading pathways under appropriate exemptions/registrations.
Interoperability (multiple chains, custodians, and data/reporting integrations).
Corporate actions (e.g., funding/ M&A) that could accelerate product rollout. Bloomberg

5) Emerging runners & the ecosystem map (who does what)

Tokenization isn’t one product; it’s a stack. The credible players tend to specialize. Here’s a simple way to map the terrain, with examples (non-exhaustive) to help readers orient. Use this to explain roles, not to chase logos.

Issuance & transfer-agent platforms (regulated wrappers).What they do: onboard investors, manage cap tables/share registries, enforce transfer rules, handle corporate actions.Examples: Securitize, Tokeny, DTCC Digital Assets (pilot work), Polymesh/TokenStudio.
Credit & fund protocols (on-chain vehicles).What they do: structure pools (private credit, treasuries, funds), run smart-contract cash-flow logic, provide data rooms/servicer hooks.Examples: Centrifuge, Maple, Superstate, Ondo (cash equivalents & wrappers).
Stable-value & cash-equivalent issuers (RWA-backed).What they do: tokenize short-duration government paper or cash-equivalent portfolios; aim for predictable yield + composability.Examples: Franklin Templeton (on-chain fund shares), Ondo (USDY), tokenized MMF wrappers.
Custody, trust, and fund administration (TradFi plumbing).What they do: hold underlying assets, run NAV accounting, provide attestations, service corporate actions.Examples: Qualified custodians, trust banks, fund admins integrating with tokenization platforms.
Identity & compliance middleware.What they do: KYC/AML, accreditation, whitelists, travel-rule and jurisdiction controls; often align with permissioned token standards (e.g., ERC-3643).Examples: Identity/KYC providers integrated into issuance portals.
Oracles & data services.What they do: price feeds, rate resets, proof-of-reserve/attestations, document registries.Examples: Oracle networks, audit/attestation APIs, proof-of-reserves services.
Secondary trading & liquidity venues.What they do: ATSs (alternative trading systems), bulletin boards, RFQ venues, and AMM-like designs where regulation permits.Note: This is still developing for most securities; expect controlled environments first.
Analytics & reporting layers.What they do: unify on-chain events with off-chain servicing/valuation into audit-ready dashboards and exports (investor, issuer, regulator views).Examples: Internal issuer dashboards, third-party analytics providers.

Takeaway: The strongest projects don’t try to do everything. They plug into this map cleanly and prove they can exchange data, identity, and legal state with adjacent layers.

6) How to evaluate an RWA project (a practical checklist)

Use this as a due-diligence template—it keeps conversations focused on facts instead of narratives.

Regulatory & legal

Wrapper: What is the legal structure (SPV, fund, note)? Which exemptions/registrations apply?
Transfer controls: Are compliance rules enforced on-chain (e.g., ERC-3643/1400) and mirrored in legal docs?
Jurisdictions: Where can it be offered and to whom (QP, accredited, professional investors)? Is there geo-fencing?

Asset integrity & servicing

Provenance: Who originates the assets? Track record? Conflicts?
Servicing data: How frequently are payments, defaults, recoveries, and covenants reported? Is the schema machine-readable?
Valuation: Who performs valuations? Frequency? Methodologies? Are historical marks and methodology changes documented?

Custody & operations

Qualified custody: Who holds the underlying? How are accounts segregated?
Wallet policy: MPC/HSM standards, whitelisting, multi-sig? Operational playbooks for key rotation and incident response?
Accounting treatment: How are tokens booked on balance sheets? What is the NAV calc policy?

Token design & technical controls

Standard: Permissioned token standard? Pausable? Freezable (as required by law)? Upgrade governance?
Oracle dependencies: What external data feeds exist (rates, prices)? Redundancy?
Audits: Smart-contract audits (by whom, when, scope)? Public reports? Post-audit remediations?

Liquidity & lifecycle mechanics

Primary/secondary flow: How do subscriptions/redemptions work? Cooling-off/lockups?
Market-making: Is there committed liquidity or RFQ/ATS access? What’s the redemption SLA?
Fees: Transparent schedule (management, admin, performance, protocol, gas/ops)?

Data transparency

Dashboards & exports: Can investors download CSV/JSON with transaction-level detail?
Attestations: Proof-of-reserves/holdings, auditor letters, administrator statements—frequency and accessibility.
Change logs: Contract upgrades, policy changes, parameter shifts recorded and communicated?

Risk posture

Concentration: Underlying asset, borrower, servicer concentration limits?
Stress testing: Interest-rate shocks, default scenarios, liquidity droughts—are results published?
BCP/DR: Business continuity and disaster recovery plans for both off-chain and on-chain components.

If a project can’t answer these cleanly (or won’t document them), that’s your signal to pass—or to limit exposure until controls mature.

7) Closing thoughts: execution over narratives

Tokenization isn’t “the future” in the abstract—it’s working now where the incentives are aligned: cash equivalents, selected credit programs, and regulated fund shares. The pattern across leaders is consistent: tight legal wrappers, permissioned tokens, professional custody, machine-readable reporting, and realistic expectations for liquidity.

For readers and clients, the playbook is simple:

Prioritize evidence (live products, disclosures, distributions) over roadmaps.
Judge teams on data plumbing and compliance as much as contract code.
Remember that liquidity is earned, not assumed; secondary markets deepen only when reporting, custody, and investor protections are boringly solid.