Key Highlights:
- Clear crypto rules lowered legal risks and pushed banks to adopt tokenization.
- Stablecoin clarity and easier custody unlocked real-world assets on-chain.
- The on-chain RWA market surged to ~$30-$35 billion as institutions moved in.
President Donald Trump was reelected in November 2024 and took over the oval office in January 2025. With this take over, he promised to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.” Since then his administration has begun moving away from a strict enforcement-first approach and has moved towards policies that encourage growth and clarity.
The Trump administration has rolled out executive orders, proposed legislations, and changes across key regulators. One major step was forming a Presidential Working Group on digital assets in January 2025 to develop recommendations for a federal digital asset framework. Moreover, at around the same time, banking rules affecting crypto custody were also eased. This allowed traditional institutions to engage more freely.
Together, both of these shifts have somewhere or the other let go of the aggressive oversight and have shifted the attention towards practical blockchain use cases. Due to these shifts, the institutions are more interested in turning toward tokenized real-world assets and traditional finance.
Core Legislative Reforms
As stated above, the US crypto rules are changing and the Trump administration is making an effort to make the crypto frameworks even more crypto-friendly. Below we have mentioned a few regulatory changes that have had a great impact on adoption of the industry and on the tokenized real-world assets like real-estate, bonds and treasuries as well.
GENIUS Act (July 2025)
The GENIUS Act, is a law that was introduced in July 2025, sets clear rules and regulations for stablecoins. Before the law was passed, stablecoins were being used for payments, trading and even as backing for tokenized assets. However, there were no clear federal rules.
As there were no clear rules and regulations surrounding the stablecoins, the banks and other companies were scared of legal troubles that would follow if they issued or used stablecoins. Without trusted stablecoins, it was risky to launch tokenized real-world assets, there was no digital dollar backbone.
With this law, clear rules have been set for payment with stablecoins. The law states that the stablecoins should have 1:1 reserves (every stablecoin should be backed by real money). There should be monthly audits, anti-money laundering compliance for banks and non-banks. It also establishes a dual federal state framework so both regulators and states have a clear role.
With this law, stablecoins become trustworthy and reliable digital dollars, which can be used to buy, sell or collateralize tokenized assets like bonds or real-estate.
Banks and financial institutions can now safely integrate stablecoins into tokenization platforms. So, basically this law provides the financial plumbing for tokenized real-world assets to operate at scale.
CLARITY Act (House Passed 2025)
The CLARITY Act, which is yet not a law yet, proposes splitting SEC and CFTC oversight and classifying certain decentralized tokens as digital commodities.
There were companies that wanted to put real-world assets on the blockchain but did not do so because it was not clear as to which regulator (the SEC or the CFTC) would oversee them.
The companies were constantly worried that their project could be suddenly treated as illegal securities and this is what stopped them from moving further with the project.
This legal uncertainty scared banks and investors far away from the process of tokenization. Once this change bill is implemented as a law, projects will be able to safely put bonds, real estate, and other assets on-chain without worrying about enforcement. Tokenization will grow faster since the projects would know what is allowed and what is not.
SAB 121 Repeal (Jan 2025)
SAB 121 was also a major roadblock. SAB 121 stood for Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, which provided guidance to banks and custodians on how to account for crypto assets they hold for customers. The rule stated that if a bank or any custodian holds crypto for clients, then they have to put those crypto holdings on its own balance sheet as assets and liabilities. This is something that blocked institutional adoption of crypto.
SAB 122 fixed this in January 2025. With this shift, banks now do not have to record customer crypto as their own assets and liabilities. This removes a big barrier for banks and makes it easier for them to support crypto custody and tokenization.
CFTC Crypto Sprint (Aug 2025)
The CFTC launched the Crypto Sprint to make spot crypto and tokenized collateral easier to list on regulated platforms. Before this, tokenized RWAs struggled because it was unclear if listings were allowed or not. Now, tokenized assets can trade legally, use crypto as collateral and attract institutional investors.
Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act (2025)
The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act bans the US from issuing a CBDC to protect privacy. CBDCs raised concerns around transaction privacy and government oversight. By implementing a ban on these CBDCs, tokenized assets can circulate privately and this would encourage innovation and institutional adoption.
Conclusion
All these regulatory shifts made tokenization clearer, safer and bank-friendly. As a result, the RWA tokenization market has surged to ~$30-$35 billion in 2025 and it is mainly driven by tokenized Treasuries and private credit. Clear rules turned RWAs from experiments into a fast-growing institutional market.
Also Read: Top Cryptocurrencies That Have Tokens Linked to RWA
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