R25 has launched its on-chain stablecoin and real-world asset protocol, partnering with Polygon as its inaugural blockchain. This initiative introduces yield-bearing stablecoins that are backed by traditional financial instruments. The initial product, rcUSD+, is designed to maintain a one-to-one peg with the US dollar while distributing yield generated from money market funds and a structured notes portfolio.
The rcUSD+ token will be accessible throughout Polygon's decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, entering a market with an increasing number of asset-backed stablecoins. Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, commented that this collaboration is intended to bring institutional-quality real-world assets onto the blockchain. He highlighted that R25's risk-managed structure offers significant value to users and protocols being developed on the Polygon network.
R25's underlying assets incorporate several layers of credit enhancement, which are intended to bolster the stablecoin's creditworthiness. The company anticipates that rcUSD+ will be composable across various lending, collateral, and liquidity protocols on Polygon, thereby enhancing capital efficiency within DeFi applications.
Growing Interest in Tokenized Real-World Assets
This launch occurs at a time of resurgent interest in tokenized real-world assets. Standard Chartered has projected that the real-world asset market could expand to $2 trillion by 2028, a significant increase from its current estimated size of approximately $35 billion. While the majority of these assets are expected to be hosted on Ethereum, competing layer-2 networks like Polygon are actively working to secure a share of this growing market.
Analysts from RedStone have observed that the adoption of yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenized assets is effectively reducing the yield disparity between traditional finance and the cryptocurrency space. Currently, only an estimated 8% to 11% of crypto assets generate yield, compared to 55% to 65% in traditional finance. However, this gap is rapidly narrowing as tokenized Treasuries and real-world assets become more widespread.