Only 8% to 11% of crypto assets are currently yield-generating, versus 55% to 65% in traditional finance, creating a 5x to 6x gap. This gap is narrowing as yield-bearing stablecoins, blue-chip staking products, and real-world assets move on-chain at speed, according to a new report from modular blockchain oracle network RedStone. The research was co-authored by RedStone Oracles, Gauntlet, Stablewatch, and the Tokenized Asset Coalition.
Catalysts for Yield Growth
The report highlights an explosion in yield-bearing stablecoins, which have increased by roughly 300% year-over-year. It also points to brisk growth in liquid staking for Ethereum and Solana. Emerging Bitcoin yield primitives are also identified as another catalyst for investors seeking returns on inactive cash.
Stablecoin Market Evolution
Today's stablecoin market exceeds $290 billion, led by Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC. A new class of yield-bearing stablecoins is emerging that generates ongoing returns rather than sitting idle, serving as productive capital in on-chain finance.
Growth in Liquid Staking and Restaking
RedStone's data indicates that liquid staking tokens on Ethereum have added $34 billion in notional value since early 2023. Similarly, the total value locked in liquid restaking protocols like Eigenlayer has skyrocketed, rising from around $1 billion in early 2024 to over $22 billion as of November 12.
Solana and Bitcoin Yield Opportunities
Solana's liquid staked supply has roughly doubled over the past year. Early Bitcoin yield designs are beginning to surface as institutions seek hurdle-rate returns without leaving their custody frameworks. This demand is increasingly institutional and infrastructure-led, according to the report, which cites data from RWA.xyz.
Expansion of Real-World Assets (RWAs)
RWAs have expanded from low single digits in 2022 to over $36 billion by November 2025, aided by programmable settlement, round-the-clock liquidity, and composability across lending and rate markets. Differences in methodology have created discrepancies in total RWA figures, with The Block's data dashboard showing nearly $15 billion in RWA TVL by protocol, while DefiLlama reports about $19 billion.
Regulatory Momentum and Future Forecasts
Analysts consider the U.S. GENIUS Act as the industry's biggest regulatory unlock since Bitcoin's white paper, arguing the law is catalyzing a migration of cash-like instruments and fixed-income yields onto blockchain rails. The framework's introduction suggests that policy momentum is catching up, and regulatory clarity now appears to be a swing factor, according to RedStone analysts.
Macro consultancies and banks have floated multi-trillion-dollar tokenization forecasts for this decade. Deloitte projects that tokenized markets could reach over $4 trillion by 2035, while Ripple sees a $19 trillion RWA ecosystem around the same time. RedStone analysts expect that yield-bearing stablecoins could capture a significant portion of this expansion as institutions flock to DeFi.