Plume CEO: "RWA made major strides last year…future growth hinges on end users"

As real-world asset tokenization (RWA·Real World Asset) surged last year and drew attention across global finance, a view has emerged that broader participation from everyday users is needed for the RWA market to advance further.

On the 12th, Chris Yin, CEO of Plume Network, said at a press briefing held at the FKI Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, that "the RWA market has grown over the past year from about $5 billion to $25 billion," adding that it is "one of the most important trends in the blockchain industry right now."

RWA is a financial product that enables real-economy assets—such as bonds, equities and real estate—to be issued in token form on a blockchain and traded. Yin said, "The core benefits of tokenization are faster settlement, global accessibility, lower costs and new revenue opportunities," stressing that "it can improve efficiency compared with traditional financial infrastructure."

Institutional investors appear to be driving recent RWA growth. Yin said, "Major financial firms such as BlackRock, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Franklin Templeton are participating in tokenization businesses," adding that "this is a sign that trust in blockchain-based assets is rising."

However, Yin said the current RWA market has structural limitations. He noted that "BlackRock’s on-chain money market fund has $2.1 billion in assets deposited, but the actual number of holders is only 112," adding that "the user base remains limited relative to the amount of capital." He continued, "Technological progress is determined by adoption by end users," and added that "expanding the end-user base is necessary for the ecosystem to scale."

Meanwhile, since its establishment in 2024, Plume has launched its mainnet and has now reached $400 million in TVL (total value locked). Yin said, "Plume Network is the world’s largest RWA network, with more than 200,000 active users," adding, "We aim to drive growth in the RWA market by advancing products for end users."