Real-world assets (RWAs) have expanded rapidly on blockchain networks, prompting Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao to acknowledge that he underestimated the sector’s growth. Speaking during the Binance Clubhouse Bali 2026 community Q&A on August 23, Zhao said he had paid little attention to RWAs about 18 months earlier but now sees advantages including 24/7 trading, transparency, lower fees and global access. RWA.xyz recorded $38.35 billion in distributed RWAs on-chain as of August 28, excluding stablecoins, up 1.54% over 30 days. The number of holders more than doubled to nearly 3 million wallets, a 104% monthly increase. Ethereum led distributed RWAs with about $17.2 billion in the detailed RWA.xyz data, while the overview cited $17.3 billion; BNB Chain followed with $5.7 billion versus $5.8 billion in the overview, and Solana held roughly $4.1 billion. Broader represented asset value across the tokenization market reached $380.88 billion. Tokenized Treasuries remained major assets, including Circle’s USYC at about $2.88 billion, BlackRock’s BUIDL at roughly $2.76 billion and Ondo Finance’s USDY at about $2.19 billion. Tokenized equities grew faster, with monthly transfer volume rising more than 415% to $29.5 billion and distributed value reaching $2.54 billion, up about 637% from a year earlier. Ondo Finance offers more than 440 tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds to eligible non-U.S. investors across several blockchains. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued January guidance on tokenized securities, distinguishing issuer-sponsored tokens from third-party products, while SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency’s 2026 agenda includes clearer custody and trading rules. Zhao grouped RWAs with perpetual decentralized exchanges and AI agents as sectors that could shape crypto’s next phase, without calling any of them a guaranteed dominant trend.