Tokenized Treasuries Reach $15B Milestone as Bitcoin Stagnates
The total value of tokenized Treasuries reached a remarkable $15.35 billion on May 13, driven by fears of Federal Reserve rate hikes, prompting investors to seek on-chain yields.
Summary
- The locked value in tokenized Treasuries exceeded the mid-April peak of $15.10 billion, with rwa.xyz confirming the record of $15.35 billion on May 13.
- The US CPI for April reported an annual rate of 3.8%, significantly increasing the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate hike and diminishing expectations for immediate cuts.
- Leading the industry, Circle’s USYC and BlackRock’s BUIDL have seen growth from $3.9 billion in early 2025 to over $15 billion within 16 months.
On May 13, tokenized Treasuries hit a total value locked of $15.35 billion, surpassing the previous mid-April high of $15.10 billion, based on rwa.xyz data.
This surge occurred as the market began to factor in a greater possibility of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike, marking a notable shift from the rate-cut expectations that prevailed earlier in 2026.
“Defending a June cut just became significantly more challenging, and the allocator positioning we mentioned, where capital is sitting in BlackRock’s BUIDL and tokenized T-bills instead of spot crypto, is likely to seem insightful by Friday,” said Iggy Ioppe, co-founder of Polygon Ventures, in an email.
The annualized US CPI for April came in at 3.8%, up from 3.3% in March, intensifying focus on the PPI report set to release on May 14.
Why capital is moving from spot crypto to tokenized Treasuries
Increasing real interest rates make yield-bearing on-chain assets more appealing than spot cryptocurrencies. Currently, tokenized Treasuries provide a seven-day average yield of approximately 3.41%, a return that is straightforward for institutional investors accustomed to money market fund operations.
Circle’s USYC now leads the market with around $2.9 billion in assets, surpassing BlackRock’s BUIDL in mid-March 2026. BUIDL is currently the second-largest product with about $2.58 billion. Fidelity’s FDIT, Franklin Templeton’s BENJI, and Ondo’s OUSG complete the top five.
The wider market for tokenized real-world assets has exceeded $30.9 billion, marking a 44% increase year-to-date and over 200% year-over-year, with tokenized Treasuries constituting roughly half of this total. The rise from $3.9 billion in early 2025 to $15 billion over 16 months indicates a fundamental shift in institutional capital deployment on-chain.
Looking ahead as macro risks intensify
As of May 13, Bitcoin maintained its position above $80,000 but struggled to gain further, impacted by the overhead 200-day moving average and potential selling pressure from miner balance sheets during rallies.
WTI crude oil rebounded above $100, while copper neared all-time highs, both indicating commodity-driven inflation that might sustain elevated interest rates and an ongoing demand for tokenized yield products.
Investment flows into tokenized Treasuries could increase further if the PPI report confirms ongoing inflationary pressures.
Additionally, BlackRock urged the OCC this week to reclassify tokenized Treasury products to align them with traditional counterparts for stablecoin reserve purposes, potentially solidifying their status as the primary institutional on-chain cash instrument.