RWA is about to enter the next stage. Can Aptos achieve a curve overtaking?

As a track that the market has high hopes for, RWA has not yet demonstrated its ability to connect trillions of assets in the traditional market. According to data from rwa.xyz, the total market value of RWA assets in the crypto industry is only US$24 billion, which was achieved after a 56% surge in the first half of this year. Therefore, it can be seen that the narrative of RWA has not ended but has not yet begun. With the future listing of US stocks on the chain and the tokenization of more categories of assets, RWA will truly enter the next stage. At the dawn of the present, Aptos has achieved a curve overtaking. In the past 30 days, the TVL of RWA on the chain has increased by 56.4% to US$538 million, ranking third among public chains. With the arrival of Aave, RW assets on Aptos are very likely to usher in more investment opportunities, which puts Aptos in a favorable position in the next stage of competition in RWA.

Source: on-aptos

Private lending remains the mainstream path

Private credit accounts for 58% of RWA assets, becoming the most watched asset class, followed by US Treasuries. Private credit assets mainly exist in on-chain form, and most of them lack trading liquidity; while US Treasuries are under competitive pressure from interest-bearing stablecoins, which are collateralized by Treasuries and provide similar yield characteristics.

What is private credit? Private credit refers to loans provided by non-bank institutions or investors to enterprises or individuals in the non-public market. In traditional finance, private credit has attracted a large number of institutional investors due to its flexibility and high returns. However, it also faces pain points such as high cost, low efficiency and access restrictions. For example, the audit process of traditional private credit is cumbersome, transaction costs are high, and small and medium-sized enterprises often have difficulty obtaining financing due to lack of credit records.

Crypto protocols act as intermediaries, issuing and managing assets on-chain as their core business model, reducing costs by eliminating multiple layers of intermediaries, and increasing transparency by providing real-time performance of loan pools and underlying assets.

Private Credit Asset Tokenization Process

1. Off-chain credit asset generation

The asset issuer (Originator) is responsible for generating off-chain credit assets. Private credit institutions (such as BSFG), SME financing platforms or regional credit market operators sign a loan agreement (specifying the principal, interest rate, and term), set collateral assets (such as accounts receivable or real estate, which require valuation and liquidity assessment), formulate repayment plans and default clauses, and review the borrower's financial status (including cash flow, debt ratio and credit rating, such as S&P score BB+). For example, a $1 million loan is issued to a logistics company for a term of 12 months, with an annualized interest rate of 12%, and is secured by $1.1 million in accounts receivable. This step ensures that the assets meet traditional financial standards and lays the foundation for subsequent tokenization.

2. Build an on-chain token structure

Through RWA protocols (such as Pact), single or multiple loans are mapped to on-chain tokens. Token forms include: NFT (each loan generates a unique indivisible token that records complete asset ownership), SFT (asset fractionalization, allowing investors to hold partial equity, such as 10% shares) or ERC-20 (loan pools are packaged as tradable fund shares, suitable for institutional investors). Token metadata includes the anonymous identifier of the borrower (in compliance with GDPR), principal amount (US$1 million), interest rate (12% annualized), repayment frequency (monthly), maturity date (July 2026), collateral asset details and default handling mechanism. Smart contracts support repayment status management, automatic income distribution and early redemption or peer-to-peer transfer (compliance verification required).

3. Compliant packaging

The tokenization process must comply with regulatory requirements. Set up a special purpose entity (SPV) or virtual asset service provider (VASP) in the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands or Singapore as a legal custodian, corresponding to the on-chain token. All investors must complete KYC/KYB and AML screening, and non-qualified investors are subject to access and transfer rights under regulations such as Reg D. Off-chain disclosure documents (such as a list of terms or an offering memorandum in PDF format) clearly state that the token is a debt asset and does not carry voting rights or equity attributes. This step combines on-chain hash verification and off-chain encrypted storage of personally identifiable information (PII) to ensure compliance with UETA.

4. Token issuance and financing

The token is displayed through the user interface or protocol platform to accept on-chain investment. Investors need to complete KYC verification, use USDC, APT or USDT to invest, obtain RWA tokens as vouchers, and receive repayments of principal and interest on a monthly or quarterly basis. For example, the estimated annualized rate of return of BSFG-EM-1 on the Pact platform is 64.05%, covering the financing needs of small and micro enterprises in emerging markets.

5. Profit distribution and asset liquidation

The borrower repays the loan as planned, and the funds are collected by the issuer and transferred to the SPV, mapped to the chain through the oracle or smart contract, and distributed to the token holders. The smart contract automatically splits the interest according to the holding ratio (such as 12% annualized return for 10% share), and automatically returns the principal or arranges asset renewal after the loan expires. If the token structure (such as SFT) allows, it can be traded on a decentralized exchange (DEX) or RWA dedicated market, but there is usually a lock-up period and only supports peer-to-peer transfers.

Aptos' competitive advantages in the RWA track

Technical advantage: The potential of high-performance blockchain for financial applications

As a new generation of Layer 1 blockchain, Aptos' technical architecture has become its unique advantage in the RWA track, especially in the scenario of private credit tokenization. The following is an analysis of its core technical features:

High throughput and low latency

Aptos uses the Block-STM parallel execution engine to achieve efficient transaction processing through optimistic concurrency control. Official test data shows that the theoretical throughput of Aptos can reach 150,000 transactions per second (TPS), and it is stable at 4,000-5,000 TPS in the actual production environment, far exceeding Ethereum and Solana. In the private credit scenario, high throughput supports large-scale loan issuance, real-time repayment distribution and on-chain auditing to ensure transaction efficiency.

In addition, Aptos' transaction final confirmation time is only 650 milliseconds. This sub-second confirmation speed is crucial for RWA assets that require instant settlement (such as the distribution of loan pool income). For example, the Pact protocol implements T+0 settlement on Aptos, which greatly reduces the cost of capital occupation compared to T+2 or T+3 in traditional finance.

Low transaction costs

Aptos' transaction fees average less than $0.01. The low cost feature is particularly critical for RWA scenarios, as tokenized assets involve frequent on-chain operations (such as loan issuance, repayment allocation, and compliance verification). Taking Pact as an example, its on-chain loan management requires real-time updates of repayment status, and low fees ensure the controllability of operating costs.

Modular architecture and scalability

Aptos’ modular design separates the consensus, execution, and storage layers, allowing each layer to be optimized independently. This is critical for RWA asset management, as private credit involves complex metadata (e.g., borrower information, repayment schedule).

Ecological layout: institutional endorsement and regulatory friendliness

Aptos' ecological layout in the RWA track has significantly enhanced its competitiveness through cooperation with traditional financial giants and expansion of the DeFi ecosystem.

Institutional collaboration and endorsement

As of June 2025, Aptos' RWA total locked value (TVL) reached US$540 million, ranking third among public chains, second only to Ethereum and ZKsync Era. This achievement is due to the participation of many traditional financial institutions:

Last July, Aptos officially announced that it would introduce Ondo Finance's USDY into the ecosystem and integrate it with major DEX and lending applications. Last October, Aptos announced that Franklin Templeton had launched the Franklin On-Chain U.S. Government Currency Fund (FOBXX) represented by the BENJI token on the Aptos Network. In addition, Aptos has also reached a cooperation with Libre to promote the tokenization of securities.

These collaborations not only bring financial and technical support to Aptos, but also enhance its credibility in the field of compliance.

Regulatory friendliness

Private credit tokenization involves complex compliance requirements, such as KYC/AML review, Reg D/Reg S compliance, etc. Aptos has built-in on-chain identity authentication and asset tracking capabilities by working with compliance platforms. For example, the Pact protocol complies with UETA requirements by storing personal identity information (PII) through off-chain encryption and combining on-chain hash verification to ensure the legal validity of loan tokens.

In 2025, the global regulatory environment gradually becomes clearer. Europe's MiCA regulations provide a clear framework for crypto assets, and the US GENIUS Act creates favorable conditions for stablecoins and RWA projects. Aptos' low fees and fast confirmation make it an ideal choice for regulatory-friendly public chains. For example, Aptos was selected by the state of Wyoming as the highest technical score candidate chain for the stablecoin project WYST, and plans to use Aptos to issue compliant stablecoins and loan tokens, which are expected to cover $100 million in assets in 2026.

Emerging Market Positioning

Aptos' RWA strategy focuses on emerging markets, especially in areas with insufficient financial inclusion. As the main asset issuer of the Pact protocol on the Aptos chain, BSFG provides diversified financing solutions for emerging markets and specific regions through tokenized private credit products, which significantly promotes the development of Aptos' RWA ecosystem.

Its flagship product, BSFG-EM-1, provides short-term, small consumer loans and revolving credit lines for individual consumers and small and micro businesses in emerging markets, with a scale of US$160 million, a single loan amount of hundreds to thousands of dollars, a term of 3-12 months, and an interest rate of up to 64.05%. BSFG-EM-NPA-1 and BSFG-EM-NPA-2 are special pools for bad debts or defaulted loans, with a scale of US$188 million, limited to qualified investors, and the returns are not disclosed. BSFG-CAD-1 is a Canadian residential property mortgage loan with a scale of US$44 million, divided into priority and subordinated structures, with an interest rate of 0.13% (probably a low-risk priority loan), backed by real real estate but in a locked state, with limited liquidity. BSFG-AD-1 provides operating loans for small and micro businesses in the UAE, with a scale of US$16 million and an interest rate of 15.48%, serving high-growth markets. BSFG-KES-1 targets the Kenyan retail credit market, with a scale of US$5.6 million and an interest rate of 115.45%.

These products are efficiently issued and transparently managed through Pact's on-chain infrastructure, contributing 77% (approximately US$420 million) of Aptos RWA TVL.

Summarize

Aptos' rapid rise in the RWA track is due to its technological advantages and ecological layout. In June 2025, its RWA TVL reached US$538 million, ranking third among public chains, mainly driven by private credit. The Pact protocol has contributed more than US$420 million in assets (accounting for 77% of Aptos RWA) by launching an on-chain debt pool, significantly improving the competitiveness of the ecosystem. As an RWA growth engine, private credit achieves on-chain composability through tokenization, allowing credit tokens to participate in revolving loans, leverage strategies and liquidity pools of DeFi protocols, generating an annualized return of 6%-15%. Compared with government bonds (which are under competitive pressure from interest-bearing stablecoins), private credit is more favored by the market due to its high returns and clear cash flows. Aptos' low transaction fees (less than US$0.01) and final confirmation time of 650 milliseconds support real-time lending and settlement. Future integration with Aave may further activate Pact's potential.

Currently, the tightening of interest rate spreads in traditional financial markets has prompted institutions to turn to on-chain solutions. Aptos fills the financing gap for small and medium-sized enterprises by serving emerging markets. In the future, with the optimization of the regulatory environment and the expansion of the DeFi ecosystem, Aptos is expected to add $500 million in RWA TVL in 2026. Through the synergy of technology and ecology, Aptos is showing continued growth potential in the private credit track.