In recent years, RWA (Real World Assets – real assets digitized and put on the blockchain) has emerged as an important direction of global finance. At the international level, institutions such as BlackRock, JPMorgan, HSBC, Fidelity or a16z have entered this playing field; while in Vietnam, RWA is still quite new despite its great potential for development.
What is RWA?
You can imagine it simply: a physical asset (e.g. gold, coffee, a portion of store revenue, or IP exploitation rights) after being verified, deposited, and reconciled will be “minted” into a corresponding digital certificate on the blockchain. That digital certificate — often called an RWA token — represents the rights attached to real assets. Thanks to that, assets can be divided, transferred quickly, traded 24/7, and when conditions are met, can be converted into goods/physical form.
Key Point: RWA is not “virtual currency”. It is a technological solution, a digital infrastructure layer for real assets, complying with the legal standards of each country to ensure legality, transparency and protect the legitimate rights of investors.
Why is RWA expected to be the dominant wave in the period 2025–2030?
Có ba động lực chính. Thứ nhất, khả năng “mở khóa” tài sản cho số đông: RWA có thể tạo điều kiện để chia nhỏ quyền lợi gắn với tài sản giá trị lớn thành các đơn vị phù hợp với nhiều nhà đầu tư phổ thông. Thứ hai, tính minh bạch và khả năng kiểm chứng: dữ liệu lưu kho, dòng tiền, tình trạng tài sản được kết nối với hệ thống sổ cái kế toán và có thể được kiểm soát theo chu kỳ, giúp hạn chế gian lận và tạo chuẩn mực công bố thông tin. Thứ ba, sự hội tụ của công nghệ và tài chính truyền thống: khi token đại diện cho giá trị thật và tuân thủ chuẩn mực, các định chế tài chính có thể tham gia với khẩu vị rủi ro rõ ràng hơn.
How are RWAs different from traditional cryptoassets?
Normally, when it comes to crypto assets, many people often think of tokens such as BTC, ETH, BNB... to invest and expect profits according to the market. For RWA, the value fulcrum of RWA is real assets or cash flow, so price fluctuations are not only linked to supply and demand, but also asset quality and operational efficiency, legal documents, accounting standards and information disclosure procedures. This makes RWA closer to the way of thinking of the capital market: investors read documents, understand rights and obligations, assess risks, monitor reports, and then decide on allocation.
Illustrative example
- Digital agricultural products: After entering the warehouse and meeting quality standards, coffee/pepper will be tokenized by unit of volume; investors can hold, transfer, or exercise the right to receive the goods.
- F&B revenue: a proportion of the chain's revenue is structured into a digital right; the investor owns the right to receive a share of the business results that are transparently reconciled.
Vietnam – a natural advantage of the RWA era
Vietnam is entering a period of economic dynamism and development, from gold and jewelry, Robusta coffee and pepper in the world's leading group, cashew nuts, tourism - commercial real estate, F&B chains with double-digit growth, along with the expanding digital content economy. However, the financialization aspect of assets is still not optimized. RWA is the "bridge" to bring assets to the open capital market, increase transparency, reduce transaction costs, and improve governance quality.
Risks need to be looked at squarely
RWAs are not risk-free. The underlying asset price may fluctuate; the quality of the goods may decline; the operating cash flow may not be as expected; operational data may be erroneous if not properly linked; secondary liquidity may be thin at some stages. Therefore, every RWA product requires full documentation, regular disclosure mechanisms, independent third-party audits, and especially the compatibility of the contract with the on-chain operating mechanism.
Conclude
RWA is not just a “technological trend”. It is a method of financializing real assets that helps unlock economic value, raise transparency standards, and connect Vietnam with global capital flows. With a rich asset base, accelerating technological capabilities, and large capital needs for production and business, Vietnam has the opportunity to lead the region in the field of digital assets if it follows the right roadmap: compliance first, standardization later, and sustainable expansion.
This series of articles is for sharing knowledge and information, not for investment recommendations or financial product offerings, not for legal analysis or predictions, but focuses on sharing about technology, economics, and investment. The contents referring to regulations, if any, will be written based on existing legal principles, the parts without detailed regulations will be explained and mentioned based on experience in countries that have implemented them in practice. Readers need to proactively read and understand the current policies and legal framework of Vietnam through official documents; at the same time, need to comply with the current legal framework and only operate when specifically licensed, cautiously and responsibly towards the State, community, and society.
Xem ngay Bài 2: “Digital assets & blockchain in Vietnam: Legal picture, opportunities for businesses"
Eric Vuong
Chairman of BOD
HVA Investment Joint Stock Company
