GM from THE RWA DESK! Your one-stop shop for everything RWA. Front-Row Intelligence, Front-line Dealflow.
Institutional Digital Assets | Fireside Chat with S&P Global Ratings
Featuring Michal Selbka (S&P Global Ratings) and Chad Oda (The RWA Desk)
Here’s What We Got For You:
RWA Market Snapshot — $18B in RWA TVL & 573k Holders
Institutional Event Recap — Fireside Chat with S&P Global Ratings
Top Stories We’re Watching — Paul Atkins, DTCC, JPM
Front-Line Deal Sheet — $200M in Selected Deal Flow
Desk Chatter — Data, Rights, Rails
1. RWA Market Snapshot
Distributed RWAs sit at $18B & 573k Holders! (See new RWA.xyz definition below)
2. Institutional Event Recap
Institutional Digital Assets | Fireside Chat with S&P Global Ratings
At our latest The RWA Desk event in NYC, we hosted Michal Selbka, Associate Director at S&P Global Ratings, for a fireside chat on how institutional risk frameworks are being applied to digital assets, drawing on his analytical work on Sky Protocol (formerly MakerDAO) and MicroStrategy. The full video recording will be released soon on our Linkedin page.
Key Takeaways
Institutional frameworks are already being applied. S&P has begun applying ratings methodologies to certain live digital-asset structures, reflecting growing institutional engagement beyond theory.
Decentralization increases analytical friction. Structures without clear legal entities, stable governance, or identifiable accountability require bespoke, principles-based analysis.
On-chain monitoring is becoming part of risk analysis. For certain protocols, institutional analysis now incorporates live on-chain data to track concentrations, buffers, and governance changes.
Tokenization alone does not reduce risk. Risk outcomes still depend on legal structure, governance, and regulatory clarity, which is why assets built on established frameworks are materially easier to evaluate than fully novel DeFi structures.
Sponsor Spotlight: S&P Global Ratings (Sponsor message)
S&P Global Ratings (“SPGR”) is a leading provider of independent opinions covering a broad spectrum of the digital asset ecosystem, including credit ratings of digital bonds, tokenized funds, structured notes, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), and stablecoin stability assessments, among others.
Whether decentralized or traditional finance, we are committed to the highest standards in our rating actions credit research. Our opinions and credit risk measures are rooted in our deep experience.
Through our independent assessments, research, and insights, we provide market participants with information to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of decentralized finance, providing transparency, resilience, and informed decision-making.
SPGRs milestones in the continued growth of the digital asset economy include first-ever credit rating of a DeFi protocol (Sky Protocol), ratings on tokenized treasury funds and digital bonds, and the rating of a bitcoin treasury corporation (Strategy Inc.). Recently, S&P Global Ratings partnered with Chainlink to distribute off-chain data on-chain.
Explore our ratings, assessments, and digital asset solutions – and connect with our team – by visiting our DeFi Hub: S&P Global Ratings DeFi Offerings
3. Top Stories We’re Watching
SEC Chair Paul Atkins Signals Tokenization Momentum — Law Still Catching Up
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said on Fox Business that digitization and tokenization are likely to play a growing role in U.S. capital markets, citing efficiencies in settlement, record-keeping, and infrastructure. He framed tokenization as part of a broader modernization cycle that could unfold over the coming years. While remarks from the SEC Chair matter, they remain directional rather than binding. For institutions managing trillions in regulated assets, broad adoption still depends on regulatory guidance being written into law.
DTCC Advances Tokenization After SEC No-Action Letter
DTCC received an SEC no-action letter allowing its depository subsidiary to pilot a tokenization service for DTC-custodied assets, initially covering Russell 1000 equities, U.S. Treasuries, and select ETFs. DTCC sits at the center of U.S. market plumbing, processing settlement activity measured in the hundreds of trillions annually, with total notional activity across DTCC systems extending into the quadrillions. The letter does not change securities law, but it provides regulatory comfort to test blockchain-based asset representation within existing rails—an incremental but meaningful step for core market infrastructure.
JPMorgan Scales Tokenized Money Markets and On-Chain Debt
JPMorgan continues to deploy tokenization where it delivers clear efficiency. The bank is launching a tokenized money-market fund, seeded with $100M, for institutional clients, and has also executed a $50M blockchain-based commercial paper issuance. These efforts focus on faster settlement and improved liquidity management. While permissioned and institution-only, they signal a shift from pilots to repeatable on-chain issuance and cash-management infrastructure inside a G-SIB.
RWA.xyz Proposes New Terms for Tokenized Assets
The new framework splits the market into Distributed Assets—tokens you can move off the issuer’s platform and transfer peer-to-peer—and Represented Assets, which stay inside the issuer’s system and use blockchain simply for record-keeping. The shift matters for analysis and headlines, RWA.xyz will now show Distributed, Represented, and All Asset views, so total size may look smaller due to reclassification, not contraction. Some products may reclassify to become Distributed Assets as definitions and tech evolve.
4. Noteworthy Transactions (Dec 2025)
Deal | Date | Desc. | Size | Parties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Kraken Acquires Backed Finance | 12/2 | Kraken accelerates tokenized equities strategy via acquisition | Undisclosed | Kraken & Backed Finance |
Canton Network Capital Raise | 12/4 | Canton secures strategic funding to expand institutional blockchain infrastructure | $50M | BNY, iCapital, Nasdaq, S&P Global |
JPMorgan On-Chain Commercial Paper Issuance | 12/11 | JPMorgan executes blockchain-based commercial paper issuance | $50M | JPMorgan Chase, Galaxy Digital (on Solana) |
JPMorgan Tokenized Money-Market Fund Launch | 12/15 | JPMorgan announces launch of tokenized money-market fund for institutional clients | $100M (seed) | J.P. Morgan Asset Management (on Ethereum) |
Sponsor Spotlight: RWA.io (Sponsor message)
Defactor and RWA.io have launched a global accelerator to support real-world asset teams bringing value on-chain. The program provides infrastructure, tooling, and ecosystem visibility to help projects launch or scale responsibly.
Selected teams receive accelerator support and access to a $250K grant fund.
5. The RWA Desk Chatter
Data is only as good as it can be contextualized. In RWAs, that context starts with naming what you’ve actually tokenized. Through RWA.xyz’s framework, a Distributed Asset can move from wallet-to-wallet outside the issuer’s platform, while a Represented Asset lives on the issuer’s system and uses blockchain mostly for record-keeping. While these definitions seem similar, they convey different info about the nature of the tokenized products—asset mobility, liquidity, and composability all hinge on this line.
One step deeper, it shines light on the difference between rights and rails. If the token’s purpose is to provide price exposure, it may not deliver ownership, voting, or dividend rights. Additionally, settlement rails address interoperability and finality, which are not the same as a closed database with a blockchain label. Rights tell you what you own, rails tell you how (and whether) it moves.
Finally, measure like TradFi. Headlines—“$X tokenized Treasuries”—mean little without method and date. What’s included? Which chains? Distributed or represented? Benchmarks and disclosure cadence are the difference between a marketing number and an investable one.
Catch ya on the next—
THE RWA DESK
Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.