The tokenized real-world asset market crossed $20B in onchain AUM by May 2026, and a handful of platforms now route the majority of that flow. Securitize, Ondo, Backed Finance, Centrifuge, Hashnote, and Plume Network each occupy a distinct slice of the stack: issuer-of-record, fund manager, wrapped-equity factory, private credit marketplace, money market issuer, and RWA-native settlement chain.
This comparison breaks down what each platform actually does, the AUM they support, the asset classes they cover, the chains they live on, and the KYC posture for retail vs institutional access. Use it to pick the right counterparty for a tokenization mandate, a custody decision, or a yield allocation.
Which RWA platforms matter in 2026?
Six platforms control most of the tokenized RWA volume: Securitize, Ondo, Backed Finance, Centrifuge, Hashnote, and Plume Network. Each plays a different role in the issuance, distribution, and settlement stack.
Securitize is the regulated transfer agent and issuance platform behind BlackRock's BUIDL and several Apollo and Hamilton Lane funds. Ondo runs its own fund family (OUSG and USDY) plus the Flux Finance lending venue. Backed Finance issues 1:1 collateralized wrappers of public equities and ETFs. Centrifuge is the longest-running tokenized private credit marketplace. Hashnote, now under Circle's umbrella, issues USYC as a tokenized money market. Plume Network is a Layer-2 purpose-built for RWA issuance with native compliance primitives.
How do these platforms compare on AUM?
Securitize routes the largest dollar volume through BUIDL (~$2.5B) plus its other managed funds. Ondo holds roughly $2.75B across OUSG and USDY. Hashnote's USYC sits around $3B. Centrifuge, Backed Finance, and Plume operate at smaller scale but in different segments.
Per rwa.xyz as of May 2026, the rough AUM picture looks like this:
Securitize: ~$3.5B in tokenized assets routed through its platform, including BUIDL (~$2.5B), Apollo's tokenized credit fund, and Hamilton Lane offerings.
Ondo: ~$2.75B combined across OUSG (~$625M) and USDY (~$2.1B).
Hashnote / Circle: ~$3B in USYC.
Backed Finance: ~$120M in tokenized equities and ETFs (bCSPX, bIB01, bCOIN, and similar wrappers).
Centrifuge: ~$430M in active tokenized private credit pools.
Plume Network: ~$180M in tokenized assets issued on the Plume chain by third-party originators.
The AUM gap reflects scope. Securitize, Ondo, and Hashnote concentrate on Treasury-backed products where institutional flows aggregate. Backed serves a different demand curve (retail-accessible equity exposure). Centrifuge underwrites credit pools that compound more slowly. Plume's number is platform-level and grows with originator adoption.
What asset classes does each platform cover?
Treasury-backed funds dominate the AUM but the platforms diverge sharply on what else they offer: equities, private credit, real estate, and structured products each have a primary venue.
Coverage by platform:
Securitize: Money market funds (BUIDL), private credit (Apollo), private equity secondaries (Hamilton Lane), and traditional 144A debt issuance. Heavily institutional.
Ondo: Short-duration Treasuries (OUSG, USDY) and a tokenized money market product. Adjacent yield-bearing stablecoin work through Ondo Chain announcements but not yet at scale.
Backed Finance: Public equities (Coinbase, Tesla, NVIDIA wrappers), broad-market ETFs (bCSPX for S&P 500), short Treasury ETFs (bIB01). All 1:1 collateralized with the underlying held at a regulated custodian.
Centrifuge: Private credit pools (trade finance, consumer credit, real-world receivables) plus a growing line in tokenized Treasury exposure for DAO treasuries.
Hashnote: Short-duration Treasuries via USYC, structured as a tokenized money market fund. Single-product focus, now integrated with Circle's stablecoin distribution.
Plume Network: Platform-level coverage across Treasuries, private credit, real estate, commodities, and structured products, depending on what originators choose to launch on the chain.
Which chains do these platforms support?
Ethereum remains the default issuance venue, but Solana, Polygon, Avalanche, Aptos, Sui, and Plume each carry meaningful share. Ondo and Securitize both run the broadest multi-chain footprints.
Chain coverage as of May 2026:
Securitize / BUIDL: Ethereum, Polygon PoS, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Optimism, Aptos.
Ondo OUSG: Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Aptos, Sui.
Ondo USDY: Ethereum, Solana, Aptos, Sui, Cosmos via Noble, Mantle.
Backed Finance: Ethereum, Gnosis Chain, Base, Polygon, Avalanche, BNB Chain.
Centrifuge: Centrifuge's own Substrate chain plus Ethereum, with Base and Arbitrum integrations for specific pools.
Hashnote USYC: Ethereum primarily, with Canton Network integration for institutional settlement.
Plume Network: Native to the Plume L2 (Ethereum-aligned), with bridging to Ethereum mainnet for redemption flows.
Multi-chain matters because RWA holders increasingly want the asset to live where their other onchain activity sits. Ondo's six-chain USDY footprint is the clearest example of issuance following demand rather than choosing one venue.
How does KYC work across these platforms?
KYC posture splits the platforms into three tiers: institutional-only (Securitize-distributed funds), accredited-or-better (OUSG, Centrifuge pools), and retail-accessible with geographic gates (USDY, Backed Finance, some Plume products).
The breakdown:
Institutional-only: BUIDL via Securitize requires qualified purchaser status and a $5M minimum. Apollo and Hamilton Lane offerings on Securitize have similar accreditation gates.
Accredited / qualified: Ondo OUSG requires accredited investor status outside the U.S. and qualified purchaser status for U.S. holders. Centrifuge private credit pools generally require KYC and accreditation, though terms vary by pool.
Non-U.S. retail: Ondo USDY is open to non-U.S. individuals after a 40-day lockup. Backed Finance products are available to non-U.S. retail with KYC at mint and redeem. Plume offerings depend on the issuer but include retail-accessible products with jurisdiction filters.
Permissionless secondary: Once minted, USDY and Backed Finance tokens trade on permissionless venues. The legal claim still requires the holder to satisfy issuer terms, but onchain transfer is not gated for these products specifically.
Which platform fits which use case?
Match the platform to the role: Securitize for regulated U.S. institutional issuance, Ondo for retail-plus-institutional dollar yield, Backed for tokenized public equity exposure, Centrifuge for private credit allocation, Hashnote for money market integration with stablecoin flow, and Plume for launching a new RWA product without building issuance infrastructure.
Practical decision points:
Allocating institutional Treasury cash: BUIDL via Securitize, USYC via Hashnote, or OUSG via Ondo, depending on minimums and accreditation status.
Building a retail yield product: USDY via Ondo for non-U.S. distribution, or a Backed Finance bIB01 wrapper for retail equity-style access to short Treasuries.
Adding equity exposure to a stablecoin treasury: Backed Finance is the only meaningful onchain venue at retail scale.
Underwriting private credit: Centrifuge is the established marketplace, with Maple Finance and Goldfinch as alternatives in the same segment.
Launching a tokenized fund as an issuer: Securitize provides the regulated transfer agent role for U.S.-domiciled products. Plume Network offers a faster path for non-U.S. or experimental issuance.
What are the main risks across these platforms?
Counterparty risk concentrates at the issuer and the custodian. Smart contract risk varies by chain. Regulatory risk is highest for retail-accessible products in jurisdictions tightening tokenized securities rules.
Securitize, Ondo, and Hashnote rely on traditional custodians (BNY Mellon, State Street, and bank deposit relationships) for the underlying assets, which moves credit risk into the regulated financial system. Backed Finance custody sits with a regulated entity in Switzerland under FINMA-approved terms. Centrifuge pool risk depends on the originator and the underlying receivables, not Centrifuge itself. Plume's risk is platform-level: the chain's compliance primitives are new and have less history than Ethereum mainnet contracts.
Regulatory framing matters more in 2026 than it did in 2024. MiCA's tokenized securities provisions apply to EU distribution. The SEC's posture on tokenized securities tightened through 2025, which pushes more U.S. institutional product into Securitize's regulated rails and keeps retail-accessible products non-U.S. by design.
Methodology and sources
AUM figures from rwa.xyz as of May 2026. Platform mechanics, chain coverage, and KYC posture from each issuer's documentation: securitize.io, ondo.finance, backed.fi, centrifuge.io, hashnote.com, and plumenetwork.xyz. Asset class scope and minimums verified against each platform's published terms. AUM rounded to the nearest meaningful unit; intra-month flows can move figures materially.