🧵 RWA: True DeFi or Just TradFi With Extra Steps?

Real-World Asset tokenization is exploding in 2025. But beneath the hype, are we just watching “decentralization theater”?

Let’s unpack why critics say RWA is on-chain in name only. 👇 

#RWA #DeFi #Crypto

Love Tech + Art. 

Web3 Writing at: https://paragraph.com/@petervn

1. RWA is booming... but so are the red flags 🚩

BlackRock’s BUIDL fund? Nearly $3B in tokenized Treasuries.

But it’s custodied by TradFi giants.

So… is it decentralized? Or just TradFi, but with extra steps?

🔍 Let’s go deeper.

2. On-chain in name only?  

Projects love to say they’re on-chain. But custody is centralized. 

Compliance is permissioned.  

Transactions can be reversed.
  
Smart contracts? Sure. But human gatekeepers are still in charge.  

That’s not trustless. It’s rebranded TradFi.

4. Decentralization Theater: The Illusion of Trustlessness 🎭

BUIDL runs on Solana, Ethereum, and Avalanche. But the real control lies off-chain:

- Custodians can freeze assets.

- Courts can seize collateral.

Tokens mirror the TradFi system, just faster.

3. Compliance isn’t optional, it’s the product.

Builders argue: “Without compliance, no institutions touch this.”

They’re not wrong.

KYC, legal wrappers, and intermediaries are how RWA gets scale.

But then is this still DeFi? Or just DeFi cosplay?