Stellar's Tokenized Assets Reach $3.56B, Yet DeFi Utilization Remains Minimal

Stellar has seen significant growth in its tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), reaching $3.56 billion, according to a report by RedStone. However, only approximately $4.2 million, or 0.1%, of these assets are being used as collateral in decentralized lending markets.

The report, based on data collected through October 16, indicates that Stellar's tokenized asset market expanded 5.5 times over the previous year, making it the fourth largest blockchain for distributed RWA value. Despite this growth, the majority of Stellar's tokenized securities remain outside the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem due to various restrictions on asset management.

RedStone found that around 83% of Stellar's tokenized RWA value lacks an on-chain trading market, complicating the liquidation process for lending protocols in case of borrower defaults. The report highlights that while Stellar's RWA holder count has increased to 23,706, the actual utilization of these assets in lending protocols remains limited.

In contrast, the report noted that other blockchains, including Ethereum, also face challenges with collateral adoption, with only 2.5% of the value across major tokenized fund products being used as lending collateral.

RedStone attributes the limited integration of Stellar's tokenized assets into DeFi to compliance controls that, while appealing to institutional issuers, hinder automated lending processes. The upcoming introduction of tokenized securities by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) on Stellar in 2027 raises further questions about the future of DeFi on the network.