Stellar RWA Assets Pass $3 Billion, Outpacing DeFi Markets

Tokenized assets on Stellar surge past DeFi

Tokenized real-world assets on the Stellar blockchain passed $3 billion in July, according to a report released on Wednesday by oracle provider RedStone. During the same period, the network's decentralized finance (DeFi) markets held a fraction of that amount, sitting at just $213 million.

DeFi refers to financial services built on blockchains that allow people to lend, borrow, or trade without traditional banks. The report highlights a growing gap between the issuance of tokenized assets and the lending markets needed to make them useful onchain.

This constraint mirrors issues seen on larger networks, where tokenized real-world assets are not being fully utilized in crypto lending pools.

RedStone report details the growth

RedStone reported that Stellar's real-world asset supply grew from about $785 million in January to more than $3 billion in July. In comparison, the total value locked in DeFi protocols was recorded at $213 million.

Lending protocol Blend held $127 million, but only just over $2 million of that was deposited into pools that accept real-world assets as collateral. Total value locked is the total amount of money deposited into a DeFi protocol.

Independent onchain trackers support these figures. Data from DefiLlama showed Stellar with $232.72 million in total value locked on Friday, with Blend accounting for $150.03 million.

Four funds drive the majority of growth

RedStone attributed most of this expansion to four specific products:

• The Amundi and Spiko Overnight Swap Fund, with $713 million.
• Spiko's T-Bill fund, with $536 million.
• Ondo's USDY, with more than $533 million.
• VuMe Bond 2030, with $500 million.

DefiLlama lists Ondo Yield Assets at $533.23 million, matching the report. However, Spiko's funds operate across multiple chains. The report could not separate the Stellar-only share of those funds from the broader tracker data.

Why the gap exists between assets and lending

The report identifies pricing and settlement schedules as the main barrier. Traditional assets like Treasuries, credit funds, and money market shares settle on schedules that do not align with DeFi markets, which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If a lending market needs to liquidate collateral, it cannot easily do so using assets that settle only during traditional business hours. RedStone argues that continuous 24/7 price feeds are necessary to turn these traditional assets into usable collateral.

To address this, Stellar now carries 55 SEP-40 price feeds from RedStone. These feeds cover Treasuries, corporate credit, tokenized gold, and money market funds. RedStone adopted the SEP-40 oracle standard in June.

Future plans for DTCC custody

RedStone also noted that the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) plans to bring its custodied assets to Stellar in 2027. The report cites DTCC's total assets under custody at $114 trillion.

XLM, the native token of Stellar, traded at $0.1835 on Friday, down 0.9% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, according to CoinGecko.

What is confirmed

• Tokenized real-world assets on Stellar exceeded $3 billion in July.
• Stellar DeFi total value locked was measured at $213 million by RedStone.
• Growth was driven primarily by four funds: Amundi/Spiko, Spiko T-Bill, Ondo USDY, and VuMe Bond 2030.
• RedStone provides 55 SEP-40 price feeds on Stellar since June.

What is still unclear

• The exact Stellar-specific portion of Spiko's funds cannot be separated from multi-chain tracker data.

Why this matters for crypto investors

The disparity between tokenized asset volume and actual DeFi usage shows that having assets onchain is not enough. Without proper pricing infrastructure, these assets cannot easily be used as collateral in lending markets.

Sources

• The Defiant