Tokenized Treasuries Surge to Record $4.2B as Crypto Investors Seek Stability
Ondo Finance, BlackRock-Securitize, and Superstate lead growth, while Hashnote’s USYC faces declines amid DeFi headwinds.
As crypto markets continue to experience volatility, investors are increasingly parking funds in tokenized U.S. Treasuries, pushing their total market cap to an all-time high of $4.2 billion, according to rwa.xyz data.
Over the past six weeks, the market capitalization of tokenized Treasury products has grown by $800 million, reflecting heightened demand for lower-risk, yield-bearing assets as digital asset prices decline.
Ondo Finance’s (ONDO) offerings, including the short-term bond-backed OUSG and USDY tokens, have surged 53% in value to nearly $1 billion. BlackRock and Securitize’s BUIDL token has also expanded significantly, rising 25% to surpass $800 million. Franklin Templeton’s BENJI token increased 16% to $687 million, while Superstate’s USTB climbed more than 63% to reach $363 million.
However, not all tokenized treasuries have benefited. Hashnote’s USYC token saw its market cap shrink by over 20% to $900 million. The decline was largely driven by instability in the DeFi protocol Usual, whose USD0 stablecoin—primarily backed by USYC—plummeted from a $1.8 billion peak in January to below $1 billion.
“The growth of tokenized Treasury products during the recent crypto downturn mirrors traditional financial trends, where investors shift from riskier assets to U.S. government bonds in uncertain times,” said Brian Choe, head of research at rwa.xyz, in a statement to CoinDesk.
Choe pointed out that between November and January, stablecoins outpaced tokenized treasuries in growth as crypto markets rallied. However, since February’s market correction, the trend has reversed, with tokenized treasuries growing at a faster pace.
“This suggests that rather than exiting the ecosystem entirely, investors are repositioning funds into safer assets with yield potential, waiting for market conditions to improve,” Choe concluded.
