Tag Archives: adoption

RWA Crypto Crosses $25B But Is It Real Adoption or Just ‘Branding’?

RWA Crypto Crosses $25B But Is It Real Adoption or Just ‘Branding’?

Blockchain advisor Anndy Lian just took a public swing at one of crypto’s most dominant narratives, arguing that real-world asset tokenization is little more than traditional finance wearing a blockchain costume.

In a detailed thread, Lian laid out an 11-point case against RWA, and this isn’t coming from someone on the sidelines. He’s been in crypto since 2012, went through the ICO era, and invested in tokenized real estate as early as 2018.

“I’m not bullish on RWA. Not because I don’t ‘get it.’ Because I do,” he wrote.

‘You’ve Built a Database With Extra Steps’

Lian’s core argument hits hard. Most tokenized assets still settle in USD, enforce through courts, and custody off-chain. If the crypto layer adds no unique value, why does it exist?

He questioned whether any capital flowing into RWA protocols is actually crypto-native.

“It’s fiat wrapped, legally ring-fenced, and redeemable off-chain,” he wrote. “That’s not adoption. That’s branding.”

He called the oracle problem “fatal,” noting that smart contracts cannot independently verify property damage, confirm financial filings, or check whether collateral still exists.

On tokenized real estate, he was blunt: “Tokenization doesn’t create liquidity. It exposes illiquidity.”

BlackRock Tokenized Assets and the Billions Flowing In

The institutional capital tells a competing story.

Ethereum’s RWA market surpassed $15 billion in 2025, a threefold increase from the prior year, driven by tokenized gold, Treasury-backed products, and yield-bearing stablecoins, according to Blockonomi. Tokenized money market funds have crossed $9 billion, with BlackRock’s BUIDL fund leading at over $2.5 billion.

The XRP Ledger added $1.3 billion in tokenized RWA value in just the first two months of 2026, surpassing the $900 million recorded for all of 2025. It now holds 63% of all tokenized U.S. Treasury supply, outpacing Ethereum and Solana.

Franklin Templeton’s BENJI fund has also reached $844 million in tokenized government securities.

What Would Make Him Bullish?

Lian isn’t dismissing RWA entirely. His one compelling use case: tokenized stocks powering better perpetual derivatives, which he calls “a crypto-native product inspired by RWA, not RWA itself.”

His conditions for turning bullish? “Crypto primitives that can’t exist in TradFi,” including permissionless composability, censorship-resistant settlement, and native digital scarcity.

The institutions aren’t waiting. Whether billions in tokenized assets represent genuine adoption or sophisticated repackaging remains the sector’s biggest open question heading into Q2 2026.

 

Source: https://coinpedia.org/news/rwa-crypto-crosses-25b-but-is-it-real-adoption-or-just-branding/

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
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Coinbase Targeting Stablecoin Growth, Onchain Adoption in 2026: Brian Armstrong

Coinbase Targeting Stablecoin Growth, Onchain Adoption in 2026: Brian Armstrong

Crypto exchange Coinbase is aiming to scale up its stablecoin offerings and increase onchain adoption worldwide in 2026, according to CEO and founder Brian Armstrong.

In New Year’s Day tweet, Armstrong declared that the company’s overarching aim is to make Coinbase “the #1 financial app in the world.”

The post unpacked how Coinbase aims to move closer to this goal in 2026, with the company focusing on scaling stablecoins and payments, while also expanding its presence globally in crypto, equities, prediction markets and commodities.

Armstrong also affirmed that the exchange will be making “major investments” in automation and product quality, and that it will harness its Ethereum layer-2 network Base and Base App to “bring the world onchain.”

The post follows a similar New Year’s Eve update from David Duong, Coinbase’s Global Head of Investment Research, who argued that regulatory clarity and institutional adoption “are converging to make crypto part of the financial core.”

Duong also highlighted the role of spot crypto ETFs, stablecoins and tokenization in driving growth and adoption, suggesting that these factors will combine in 2026 “as ETF approval timelines compress, stablecoins take a larger role in delivery-vs-payment (DvP) structures, and tokenized collateral is recognized more broadly across traditional transactions.”

These remarks also come a couple of months after Coinbase posted better-than-expected Q3 financial results, which reported a 26% quarter-on-quarter increase in revenue, at $1.9 billion.

September also brought news that the exchange is considering launching a native token for Base, although it clarified that there is no definite timeline for any such potential launch.

How achievable are Coinbase’s goals?

While Coinbase did have a positive 2025, some industry commentators suggest that Brian Armstrong’s latest tweet may have been intentionally hyperbolic, and should be taken perhaps more as a long-term strategy than as goals for this year.

“Coinbase’s aims are directionally sound but overstate near-term feasibility; true adoption hinges on solving real problems, not just moving users onchain for its own sake,” said Anndy Lian, an intergovernmental blockchain advisor and currently the Chief Digital Advisor at the Mongolia Productivity Organization.

Speaking to Decrypt, Lian agreed that Coinbase is a “critical onramp” for retail and institutions, but that its stated aim of ‘bringing the world onchain’ oversimplifies the drawn-out process of adoption.

Coinbase’s strengths lie in infrastructure such as custody and fiat rails, rather than “building these vertical applications,” he said, adding that the exchange’s aims “are realistic only if they enable others’ use cases—not lead them.”

Having said that, Lian’s prediction for the wider cryptocurrency industry is that there will be a reemphasis on “user-centric utility” in 2026.

“After the speculative excesses of previous cycles, 2026 will prioritize relatable, non-speculative applications,” he explained, pointing to examples such as travel platforms using crypto for seamless cross-border rewards, supply chain tracking for ethical sourcing, and healthcare data interoperability via permissioned chains.

Lian also suggested that 2026 will see enterprise adoption mature in finance (e.g. tokenized assets), healthcare (e.g. secure patient records) and supply chains (e.g. provenance verification), but that, ultimately,  success depends on interoperability and regulation.

Coinbase has been contacted for comment.

 

Source: https://decrypt.co/353503/coinbase-targeting-stablecoin-growth-onchain-adoption-in-2026-brian-armstrong?amp=1

 

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
j j j

Anndy Lian Warns Against Hasty Bitcoin Adoption, Urges Foundational Policymaking

Anndy Lian Warns Against Hasty Bitcoin Adoption, Urges Foundational Policymaking

A leading intergovernmental advisor is issuing a stark warning to nations racing to adopt Bitcoin: building massive reserves without a solid policy foundation is like building on sand. Speaking at Bitcoin Conference Asia 2025, author and blockchain advisor Anndy Lian urges governments to prioritize international cooperation and deliberate groundwork over the headline-grabbing rush to accumulate. He argues that without shared standards and a deep understanding of decentralized finance, the global crypto ecosystem risks derailing its own journey.

Key Points

  • Foundations Before Reserves: Lian argues that foundational policies on regulation, education, and infrastructure must precede the accumulation of national Bitcoin reserves, calling the rapid U.S. approach an exception, not a global template.
  • A Call for Global Coordination: Criticizing the current “siloed” approach by governments, he calls for a new international body for digital assets, similar to the BIS for banking, to establish baseline regulatory standards for all nations.
  • Understanding Decentralization is Critical: Lian warns that policymakers’ widespread ignorance of DeFi and decentralized networks is dangerous, stressing that these systems must be recognized as legitimate and central to the future of finance.

“You Can’t Build a Bitcoin Economy on Sand”

During the panel “Global Game Theory: The Response to America’s Changing Bitcoin Policy” at Bitcoin Conference Asia, Lian delivered a measured yet powerful perspective on the global landscape. While many focus on national reserves and rapid adoption, he emphasized the need for strategic patience and foundational policy work, warning that ambitious Bitcoin initiatives risk collapse without it.

Lian acknowledged the momentum generated by the United States’ pro-Bitcoin shift. “I love what America is doing right now,” he said. “The Genius Act, the strategic reserve, the market structure legislation—it’s all moving at godlike speed.”

But he quickly added a caution. “That speed is not replicable everywhere. If you zoom out and look at Asia, most countries are still in catch-up mode.” He noted that while some nations are exploring reserves, the majority are focused on more basic steps like asset tokenization and stablecoin regulation.

For Lian, this slower pace is a necessity. “You can’t build a Bitcoin economy on sand,” he stressed. “Every country needs to build the foundation first—regulation, education, institutional frameworks—before jumping into strategic reserves.”

A Call for Substance Over “PR”

Lian also criticized superficial policy engagement, which he sees as a significant roadblock.

“Right now, you see people flying in, shaking hands, taking photos. CZ comes to Singapore, everyone celebrates. But that’s not policy making. That’s pure PR.” He called for deeper, sustained dialogue between governments and industry experts who can navigate the complexities of custody, compliance, and decentralized networks.

One of his most urgent messages was the need for global coordination to end the confusion caused by nations acting in isolation. “Governments are working in silos,” he said. “What we need is a body, like IATA for aviation or the BIS for banking, that leads a basic regulatory framework for digital assets.” He envisioned a world where every country contributes to shared minimum standards for exchanges, stablecoins, and custody.

Lian also urged policymakers to take decentralized finance seriously. “Most governments have no clue what DeFi is. They think it’s where criminals hide. That ignorance is dangerous.”

Lian issued a final warning and a call to action.

“Stablecoin is not just about Tether or Circle. It’s a new monetary layer. And decentralized networks are not fringe—they are the future. If we don’t build the right policies now, we won’t just miss the train—we’ll derail the entire journey.”

For Lian, the Bitcoin revolution is not won by who accumulates the fastest, but by who understands the deepest and builds the smartest.

The full panel discussion can be viewed on YouTube.

 

Source: https://news.shib.io/2025/09/01/lian-warns-against-hasty-bitcoin-adoption-urges-foundational-policymaking/

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
j j j