Wintermute: RWA Could Become a New Liquidity Channel for the Next Crypto Bull Run

Wintermute said in a statement that over the past two weeks, the crypto market has rebounded, ETF fund flows have turned positive, and stablecoin issuance has stabilized. However, to kick off a full new market cycle, the sector still needs new capital entry points. Historically, venture capital (VC) and ICOs in 2017-2018, stablecoins in 2020-2021, and ETFs plus digital asset treasury firms in 2024-2025 all accelerated bull runs. Real-World Assets (RWA) could emerge as the next major liquidity channel. Data shows stablecoins saw a net issuance of over $120 billion in a single year; ETFs recorded cumulative net inflows of $63 billion, while digital asset treasury firms added over $115 billion to their holdings. By comparison, RWA attracted roughly $16 billion in capital over the past 12 months, just about one-tenth of the peak size of the ETF and treasury firms’ previous cycle. Yet on-chain tokenized asset value has tripled in a year, exceeding $30 billion, and continued expanding even during periods of stablecoin supply contraction. Wintermute noted that RWA funds initially purchased traditional assets such as Apple stocks and U.S. Treasury funds, not crypto assets directly. But once these funds enter on-chain systems, the friction to shift to Bitcoin (BTC), altcoins, and DeFi will drop significantly. As regulatory frameworks gradually clarify, and tokenized Treasuries and funds are accepted as collateral by exchanges and DeFi protocols, RWA could drive a slower-paced, longer-lasting market cycle.