Real-world assets drive a new, more sustainable generation of DeFi

For years, decentralized finance (DeFi) has made bold claims to reinvent financial markets, but much of its growth was built on a closed-loop economy.

Protocols borrowed against tokens that were collateralized by other crypto assets, and eye-catching yields were sustained through token emissions rather than productive economic activity.

But crypto does not rest on its laurels, nor should it, and a new generation of DeFi is forming.

No longer relying solely on crypto-native assets, projects are now integrating real-world assets (RWAs) such as tokenized Treasuries, compliant SPV structures, and revenue-generating assets.