The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the growth of the Real World Assets (RWA) market could heighten risks to the global financial system and accelerate the spread of crises.

Experts from the institution emphasized that tokenization is not merely a technological upgrade but a fundamental transformation of financial architecture. Moving assets such as stocks, bonds, and cash instruments onto the blockchain eliminates intermediaries, reduces settlement delays, and cuts costs, but it also alters the nature of risks.

Accelerating Crises

Experts identify the increased speed of transactions as a key threat. Instant settlements remove traditional "buffers"—the time that previously allowed regulators and market participants to respond to stressful events.

This could potentially lead to crises that:

  • develop more rapidly;
  • intensify due to automated processes;
  • leave fewer opportunities for intervention and mitigation.

Other Sources of Instability

The IMF highlighted several additional risks:

  • fragmentation of liquidity across various blockchain platforms;
  • concentration of infrastructure, where a failure in one network could impact the entire market;
  • transfer of risks from the banking system to smart contracts and digital ledgers;
  • unpredictable capital flows, especially with global access to tokenized assets.

Experts pointed out the widespread use of stablecoins for transactions in the RWA segment. These coins serve as a bridge to the crypto market, and their reliability depends on reserves and redemption mechanisms, making them vulnerable during mass withdrawals in stressful conditions.

The IMF specifically noted the risks associated with the spread of tokenized assets and stablecoins in developing economies. According to the fund's specialists, this trend potentially poses threats such as:

  • replacement of national currencies;
  • increased volatility of cross-border capital flows;
  • reduced effectiveness of central banks' monetary policy.

Rapid Growth

The IMF emphasized that while tokenization can enhance market efficiency, without coordinated regulation and reliable infrastructure, it could become a source of systemic risks.

According to DeFiLlama, the RWA segment has already surpassed $23.4 billion (excluding stablecoins). The majority of the market consists of money market funds (~56%) and tokenized precious metals (~33.5%).

In March, analysts noted that the market for tokenized stocks grew by 2900% year-on-year. This trend has been supported by major stock exchanges like NYSE and Nasdaq.

As a reminder, according to Aave founder Stani Kulechov, the RWA segment could expand to $50 trillion thanks to the digitization of so-called "abundance assets."