Real-World Assets Hit $10 Billion in TVL, Fueled by Ethena USDtb and BlackRock’s BUIDL

The total value locked (TVL) in real-world assets (RWAs) has surpassed $10 billion, according to DeFiLlama. Maker, BlackRock’s BUIDL, and Ethena’s USDtb each contribute over $1 billion to this milestone.

Among them, USDtb has recorded the fastest growth, expanding its TVL by more than 1,000% in the last month. Unlike Ethena’s USDe, which generates returns using crypto-assets and perpetual futures, USDtb is backed by tokenized shares of BlackRock money-market funds.

CoinDesk previously reported that Treasury-backed tokens reached a record $4.2 billion in market capitalization during Q1 2025, driven by the expansion of Ondo Finance’s OUSG and USDY, BlackRock and Securitize’s BUIDL, Franklin Templeton’s BENJI, and Superstate’s USTB.

Data from RWA.xyz indicates that Treasury-backed tokens continue to dominate the sector, with tokenized commodities ranking second at $1.26 billion in TVL. Paxos Gold leads this category, with just over $500 million locked.

Analysts suggest this trend reflects investors’ increasing preference for lower-risk assets, particularly amid ongoing bearish sentiment in the crypto market. As Treasury yields outperform the returns offered by major DeFi platforms like Compound, traditional finance-backed assets have seen significant growth.