[Recap] How RWAs are Reshaping Investments on Tezos

On August 5th, The Tie hosted the Tezos Quarterly Webinar, “How RWAs Are Reshaping Investments on Tezos,” which brought together Ben Elvidge, Head of Commercial Applications at TriliTech; Greg Feibus, Head of Sales & Partnerships at Midas; and Nick Donovan, Chief Revenue Officer at Archax. Moderated by Sacha Ghebal, Chief Strategy Officer at The Tie, the conversation examined where real‑world assets (RWAs) stand today, what’s working for institutions and retail, and how Tezos’ Etherlink rollup and recent upgrades are powering the next phase of growth.

All three panelists agreed the market has moved beyond proofs of concept for certain categories. Yield‑bearing stablecoins have clearly reached product‑market fit, while most other RWA segments are still early. Donovan described a mindset shift over the past year, claiming that organizations are no longer running “check‑the‑box” pilots; instead they’re focusing on the scalability of production deployment, especially as regulatory clarity improves and flagship products draw attention. Elvidge emphasized that the next test is practical interoperability between traditional markets and 24/7 on‑chain rails, especially for assets like commodities and tokenized equities.

Next, the panel looked at how the advancements of RWAs are benefiting both institutional and retail users . For retail, tokenization is mostly about access. Moving products like money‑market yield, global stocks, and even some commodities on-chain lowers barriers of access and keeps markets open 24/7. It also removes common roadblocks, geographic restrictions, broker and account requirements, high ticket sizes, and long lockups. Investors who were shut out before now have access to a wide range of previously unavailable financial products and instruments can participate.

For institutions, the immediate benefit is the increased efficiency and reach. Putting assets on-chain automates settlement and back‑office work, which lowers costs. Additionally, it opens new distribution channels to investor groups that were previously too cost prohibitive to serve. The shared advantage is composability: once an asset is on-chain, it can be used as collateral across DeFi ecosystems, deposited into lending or trading apps, and combined with other positions in ways the traditional systems does not allow.

Elvidge outlined how Etherlink, the EVM‑compatible rollup for Tezos, has become a focal point for RWA activity. Since March, Etherlink’s TVL has approached $50 million, with RWAs contributing roughly $20 million. Growth has been driven by a combination of innovative assets like XU308 (tokenized uranium), the onboarding of institutional‑grade partners such as Midas, and incentive programs like Apple Farm that encourage composability across lending and liquidity venues. The result is more high‑quality assets with more use cases. 

Donovan and Elvidge described the joint effort to launch regulated, physical uranium exposure on-chain via Etherlink. The structure avoids an SPV and records beneficial ownership directly, with the metal held in regulated storage. Considerable work went into aligning KYC/AML, custody, and operational timing, particularly bridging immediate token issuance with a physical settlement cycle that can take up to two weeks. The early phase involved significant education about the asset itself and the realities of delivery and custody. Looking ahead, Archax is preparing additional market infrastructure, including permissions that enable market making for RWAs and an on‑chain CSD (Central Securities Depository) in Luxembourg to streamline legal title transfer and secondary trading.

Feibus gave insight into how Midas has expanded Etherlink’s offering with actively managed certificates representing curated, delta‑neutral DeFi strategies from managers such as MEB Capital and RE7 Capital. For users, the appeal is institutional‑grade strategies with same‑day liquidity and no traditional lockups, plus the ability to loop positions through lending markets or pair them with money‑market exposures. Because the underlying strategies run across multiple chains while accrual happens on Etherlink, Etherlink users capture the yield while retaining the benefits of local composability.

Recent Etherlink upgrades have focused on performance and developer ergonomics critical for DeFi and RWAs. Calypso improved storage access and smart contract execution speed while laying the groundwork for fast withdrawals to Tezos L1. Dionysus followed with more predictable gas fees, higher block capacity through tighter integration with Tezos’ data‑availability roadmap, and better support for large, complex transactions. As Feibus noted, lower friction and fees flow straight through to holders as higher net yield and enable more frequent, nimble portfolio moves.

Looking ahead, the group discussed the steady evolution of Etherlink integrations, the expectation being that more blue‑chip DeFi protocols will integrate with Etherlink. Additionally, the panel expects to see more RWA products from established issuers, and deeper secondary infrastructure. TriliTech specifically is focused on interoperability across Tezo’s L1 and rollups, including a JavaScript‑based rollup to widen the builder funnel. Archax plans to expand market‑making capabilities and bring its on‑chain CSD online. Midas will continue to add differentiated strategies from new managers, reinforcing Etherlink’s positioning as a home for institutional‑grade yield that remains composable.

RWAs on Tezos and Etherlink are evolving from proof-of concept experiments to usable, scalable components for both institutions and retail. The combination of compliant structures, credible issuers, and a fast, low‑cost execution environment is laying the groundwork for broader adoption.