Solana’s RWA Footprint and Infrastructure
Solana’s stablecoin market is overwhelmingly dominated by Circle’s USDC, which commands a 77% share of the network’s stablecoin supply, a market that now exceeds $10 billion. This growth is supported by Solana’s technical infrastructure, which is designed for high throughput, capable of handling up to 65,000 transactions per second with sub-cent fees, making it an attractive settlement layer for issuers.
This established foundation has made Solana a preferred network for major financial institutions launching tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, Franklin Templeton, and Apollo Global Management have already introduced tokenized products on the network, with a single BUIDL tranche alone adding $150 million. Market tallies list numerous distinct tokenized assets on Solana, held by millions of addresses; these tokens represent Treasury bills, money market funds, and other claims, settling on-chain to reduce the operational steps required in traditional clearing.
Consequences and Risks of the Shift
The movement of major funds like Circle’s $635 million tokenized treasury onto Solana has significant implications for the ecosystem and its participants.
-
Adoption and Liquidity: This trend is channeling more institutional capital into Solana-based instruments, significantly deepening the institutional DeFi pool. As a result, on-chain liquidity for fixed-income tokens is rising. However, this liquidity often remains clustered in a handful of key trading pairs and pools, which is a dynamic that traders and issuers must navigate.
-
Risk, Custody, and Competition: The infrastructure that enables this growth also introduces specific considerations. The token extensions used for many institutional offerings can include features like a “Permanent Delegate” function, which can allow issuers or regulators to freeze tokens to meet compliance obligations. Furthermore, while USDC leads on Solana, Tether’s USDT remains the largest stablecoin globally, ensuring that competitive pressure persists.
The Metric to Watch
Looking ahead, the key metric to watch through 2030 will be the pace of new institutional deposits and fresh tokenized issuances. Consultants forecast a steep climb in the RWA market, and as this plays out, investors and compliance officers will need to maintain a sharp focus on custody audit trails and the evolving regulatory rules that govern these tokens.
