CoinGecko’s latest report, titled “Rise of Real World Assets in Crypto,” reveals that tokenized treasuries in the United States experienced a remarkable surge of 641% in 2023. This growth is attributed to the involvement of traditional finance companies in the digital asset space.
According to CoinGecko’s data, tokenized treasuries increased from $114 million in January 2023 to $845 million by the end of the year. This translates to a substantial growth rate of 641% within a span of twelve months. Tokenized securities, which are digital tokens backed by real-world assets like stocks and bonds, played a significant role in this surge. For instance, the Ondo Short-Term US Government Bond Fund utilizes the OUSG token to represent ownership of a share of the fund and its yield.
CoinGecko’s report also sheds light on the major players in the tokenized treasuries market. Asset management firm Franklin Templeton emerges as the largest issuer, having issued tokens worth $332 million through its On-Chain U.S. Government Money Fund. This accounts for 38.6% of the market share. Franklin Templeton is renowned for its involvement in the cryptocurrency space, as it recently launched a spot Bitcoin ETF and is currently vying to launch an Ethereum ETF.
Apart from Franklin Templeton, other protocols featuring yield-bearing stablecoins backed by U.S. treasury bills are gaining popularity. Mountain Protocol’s USDM tokens, for example, have seen a sharp increase from $26,000 to $154 million since their launch in September 2023.
Tokenized U.S. treasuries primarily rely on the Ethereum network, accounting for 57.5% of the tokens. However, companies like Franklin Templeton and WisdomTree Prime have issued tokenized securities on the Stellar network, giving it a 39% market share.
While tokenized treasuries experienced explosive growth in 2023, their growth rate slowed down in 2024. In January 2024, tokenized treasuries only grew by 1.9%, resulting in a market capitalization of $861 million as of February 1st.
In addition to tokenized treasuries, CoinGecko’s report highlights the significant market capitalization of commodity-backed tokens, which reached $1.1 billion as of February 1st. Tether Gold (XAUT) and PAX Gold (PAXG) dominate this sector, accounting for 83% of the market capitalization for tokenized precious metals.
Furthermore, a new project has emerged, aiming to tokenize uranium and enable the redemption of the precious metal through digital tokens.
CoinGecko’s report provides valuable insights into the growth and trends within the tokenized treasuries and commodity-backed tokens markets.