Table of Contents
TL;DR
- On-chain RWAs (Distributed Asset Value) are $19.05B, continuing a slow, steady grind higher into year-end.
- Participation expanded faster than value again: 594,342 wallets hold RWAs, up clearly versus last week’s 581,296.
- Chain picture is getting more “rotational”: Ethereum holders rose, but Ethereum value dipped, while BNB Chain grew on both. The weirdest move is Stellar: value jumped, but holders fell.
- Commodities grew this week: market cap $3.98B (+5.85%), and activity metrics were slightly higher too (transfer volume +3.88%, active addresses +0.93%).
- Stablecoins remain the settlement ocean at $298.51B (–0.22%) with 214.82M holders (+1.24%).
Market snapshot (as of 29 Dec 2025)
| Metric | Value | 7-day Δ |
|---|---|---|
| Total on-chain RWAs (Distributed Asset Value) | $19.05B | +$0.18B (+0.95%) |
| Holding addresses (RWA holders) | 594,342 | +13,046 (+2.24%) |
| Active issuers (tokenization platforms, proxy) | 129 | +2 (+1.57%) |
| Stablecoin backdrop (total value) | $298.51B | –$0.66B (–0.22%) |
Notes (context, not extra hype): stablecoins are held by 214.82M addresses, so the user base for “settlement money” is still far broader than the RWA holder base (≈361×). That keeps the RWA:stablecoin ratio near ~1:15.7 by value.
Sources behind the 7-day deltas: this week’s RWA.xyz snapshot vs last Monday’s weekly snapshot.
Chain dynamics
This week is a good example of why “TVL up” is not enough: holder growth and value growth are diverging by chain.
- Ethereum: holders are up, but value is down. That often happens when some large positions rebalance, rotate into other chains, or when a few big assets shrink while retail-ish wallets keep coming in.
- BNB Chain: up on both holders and value. This still looks like a “concentrated capital” chain (fewer holders, big value).
- Stellar (the odd move): value jumped while holders fell. That pattern usually means consolidation (many small wallets merging into fewer addresses), custody/treasury wallet changes, or data re-labeling — not necessarily “retail left.”
- Solana: keeps the “user hub” profile: holders up strongly while value rises modestly. Many wallets, smaller average tickets.
Top 5 networks by RWA total value (excluding stablecoins) — with 7-day % in brackets (computed vs last week’s published numbers):
| Network | RWA holders | RWA total value (excl. stablecoins) |
|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | 140,224 (+2.37%) | $12,665,429,289 (–1.28%) |
| BNB Chain | 8,552 (+15.49%) | $1,856,664,276 (+6.10%) |
| Stellar | 4,855 (–19.69%) | $883,963,869 (+29.99%) |
| Solana | 124,377 (+7.58%) | $845,204,622 (+3.07%) |
| Arbitrum | 3,700 (+0.76%) | $725,605,799 (+0.78%) |
Commodities (tokenized gold, etc.)
Tokenized commodities ended the week higher:
- Market cap: $3.98B (+5.85% )
- Monthly transfer volume: $3.48B (+3.88%)
- Monthly active addresses: 18,161 (+0.93%)
Gold is still the core:
- Tether Gold (XAUT): $1.763B, about +4.97% vs $1.68B last week
- Paxos Gold (PAXG): $1.631B, about +6.60% vs $1.53B last week
Interpretation: this week looks like “size up + activity slightly up” — a cleaner picture than last week’s “cap up, activity down” vibe.
What to watch into January 2026
- Ethereum: will value re-accelerate, or does the “more holders, less value” pattern continue? If it continues, it’s a sign of smaller-ticket growth plus rotation of large positions elsewhere.
- BNB Chain: if holders keep growing at double-digits WoW while value grows mid-single digits, that means the chain is slowly getting less concentrated — worth watching.
- Stellar anomaly: value up + holders down is the kind of move that often comes from address consolidation or custody changes. If it repeats, it’s probably structural; if it snaps back, it was a one-off.
- Stablecoin rails: stablecoin value is slightly down WoW, but holders are up WoW — that “distribution keeps broadening” pattern usually supports RWAs even when TVL is slow.
Bottom line
This week looks like steady adoption, not a hype spike: holders grew faster than value, Ethereum still anchors most size, and stablecoin rails remain the real mass layer. If 2026 starts the same way, the key story to watch is whether the “many users” chains can turn participation into deeper (higher-value) RWA positions — not just more wallets.
