Tokenized private credit is the largest category in tokenized real-world assets by assets under management, exceeding $19B globally as of early 2026. It encompasses any credit instrument — loans, bonds, mortgages, trade receivables — that is originated on a blockchain or subsequently tokenized for on-chain management, distribution, or securitization. The category’s scale is almost entirely attributable to Figure Technologies, which has originated over $15B in home equity lines of credit on the Provenance Blockchain since 2018.
Subcategories
HELOCs and Mortgages: Figure Technologies originates home equity lines of credit natively on its Provenance Blockchain. Borrowers apply, receive appraisals, sign closing documents, and get funded — all within five days, compared to 30-45 days via traditional channels. The HELOC is recorded as a digital asset on Provenance from inception. Figure then sells these loans to institutional investors via its digital marketplace, with JPMorgan serving as a major buyer. This is not tokenization of a pre-existing paper loan — the loan is born on-chain.
Institutional Direct Lending: Maple Finance operates a permissioned lending protocol where institutional borrowers (crypto trading firms, fintech companies, DeFi treasuries) borrow USDC against creditworthiness assessed by independent pool delegates. Maple has deployed over $2B in institutional credit with a default rate below 2%. Maple pools are available to accredited investors globally. After early 2022 losses from Alameda/FTX exposure, Maple rebuilt with stricter underwriting and introduced overcollateralized pools.
Trade Finance: Centrifuge tokenizes trade receivables and real-world loans, connecting DeFi liquidity (including MakerDAO, which has committed $220M to Centrifuge pools) to real-world borrowers. Goldfinch focuses on emerging market credit — originating USDC loans to lending businesses in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
Clearpool: An institutional money market protocol where permissioned borrowers access uncollateralized credit at market-determined rates, with institutional lenders providing capital.
How Yield Works
Investors in tokenized private credit earn interest income at rates significantly above Treasury yields, compensating for credit risk and illiquidity. Maple Finance’s institutional pools have paid 8-12% APY on USDC, reflecting the creditworthiness of crypto-native borrowers. Figure’s HELOC investors receive yields comparable to agency mortgage-backed securities (5-7%), but with blockchain-native settlement and transparent collateral records. Yield is distributed on-chain in stablecoins or native tokens on a schedule defined by the smart contract.
Default Rates and Risk
Maple Finance experienced approximately $36M in defaults (roughly 2% of total deployed capital) from exposure to Alameda Research and other FTX-related counterparties in late 2022. This stress test revealed the importance of counterparty due diligence independent of blockchain infrastructure. Post-restructuring, Maple’s default rates have remained below 2%. Figure’s HELOC portfolio has performed comparably to traditional non-agency mortgage products, with defaults in line with industry averages.
Comparison to Traditional Private Credit
Traditional private credit funds (Ares, Blue Owl, Blackstone Credit) charge management fees of 1-1.5% plus 15-20% carried interest. Operational complexity means loan processing takes weeks. Tokenized private credit reduces fees through operational efficiency, accelerates settlement, and provides on-chain transparency into portfolio composition that traditional funds do not offer. However, traditional credit managers have established underwriting relationships, legal documentation expertise, and workout capabilities that blockchain-native platforms are still building.
Why Private Credit Leads All RWA Categories
Private credit leads tokenized RWA for structural reasons. Unlike equity, credit instruments have defined cash flows — principal and interest — that map cleanly to smart contract payment logic. Unlike public bonds, private credit is already illiquid, so the tokenized version’s reduced (but not eliminated) illiquidity is less of a disadvantage. The biggest credit market participant, Figure Technologies, built its entire lending infrastructure on blockchain from inception rather than retrofitting — meaning there was no legacy system to migrate. This head start, combined with institutional demand for higher-yielding credit alternatives, has produced the largest tokenized asset category by a wide margin.