The crypto industry is undergoing a profound shift from "asset definition" to "asset paradigm."
Over the past decade, digital assets were nearly synonymous with Bitcoin and Ethereum—crypto tokens dominated this emerging market. However, the landscape in 2026 looks entirely different. New asset categories such as on-chain certificates, in-game assets, tokenized real-world assets (RWA), and digital rights certificates are rapidly flooding into the blockchain ecosystem. Since early 2025, the scale of on-chain tokenized RWAs has surged by 589%, surpassing $31.4 billion. As of June 30, 2026, the publicly distributed RWA market, excluding stablecoins, reached $32.65 billion—an increase of approximately 50.7% since the beginning of the year.
While asset boundaries are expanding, is the supporting infrastructure ready for this wave of asset circulation? Asset issuance, ownership verification, transaction flow, and application integration—these four components form the complete lifecycle of digital assets, from creation to utilization. This article explores the evolution of digital asset definitions, analyzes the core challenges blockchain infrastructure must address, and uses KONET as a case study to examine practical directions for digital asset application infrastructure.
The Definition of Digital Assets Is Being Rewritten
If we look back to 2017, the market’s understanding of "digital assets" was highly unified—it meant cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin served as a store of value, Ethereum as a smart contract platform, and thousands of tokens built around speculation and narrative made up the entirety of digital assets.
But this perception was rapidly shattered between 2024 and 2026.
On-chain certificates are emerging as new members of the digital asset family. From Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) to Decentralized Identity (DID) systems, non-financial assets such as behavioral records, credit scores, and skill certifications are gaining market recognition. The value of these assets lies not in their trade price, but in the reputation, permissions, or qualifications they represent—they are a digital expression of "usage rights" rather than "ownership."
Gaming assets are also making a significant impact on-chain. From Axie Infinity to StepN, and from single in-game items to cross-game interoperable asset standards, gaming assets are blending financial and utility attributes. According to DappRadar, the average monthly active wallets in blockchain games exceeded 3 million in the first half of 2026, with total in-game asset value surpassing $4.5 billion.
RWA assets are the most explosive category in this wave of expansion. Tokenized US Treasuries increased from $9.07 billion to $14.82 billion in the first half of 2026—a growth of about 63.4%. Tokenized stocks rose from $670 million to $1.8 billion, with holders increasing from 122,000 to 395,000. Research from a16z Crypto shows tokenized stocks jumped from $329 million to $1.7 billion over the past year, with most growth coming from newly on-chained assets. This market is evolving from internal crypto experiments to an entry point for Wall Street.
Digital rights encompass broader categories such as carbon credits, intellectual property royalties, membership privileges, and dividend rights. Their common feature: value is anchored to real-world cash flows or utility, rather than the volatility of the underlying crypto market.
From BTC and ETH to on-chain certificates, gaming assets, RWAs, and digital rights, the definition of digital assets is expanding from "crypto-native assets" to "any digitalized entitlement that can express value on-chain." This is not just an increase in asset categories, but a fundamental shift in asset logic—from speculation-driven to utility-driven, and from internal crypto cycles to integration with the real-world economy.
Four Layers of Blockchain Infrastructure Capability
As asset categories expand, the demands on underlying infrastructure are also rising. For digital assets to move from "creation" to "utilization," at least four layers of infrastructure capability are required.
Asset issuance is the starting point. Whether issuing a new crypto token, creating an on-chain certificate, or tokenizing a US Treasury, a standardized issuance framework is essential. Ethereum’s ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155 standards solved the issuance of fungible and non-fungible assets, but they fall short for RWAs, which require compliance, KYC/AML integration, and permission management. In July 2026, SBI Group, DigiFT, and Startale Group jointly launched a proof-of-concept for tokenized securities based on the JPYSC yen stablecoin, demonstrating instant settlement and automatic dividend distribution for tokenized Japanese equity funds on Ethereum’s testnet. This marks the transition of institutional asset issuance from theory to practice.
Ownership verification is the prerequisite for asset circulation. Blockchain’s immutability is ideal for recording ownership, but the challenge lies in: how can on-chain records correspond effectively with off-chain legal rights? On July 15, 2026, DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation), along with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and 25 other institutions, completed a pilot for tokenized securities, converting assets like Microsoft stock, Invesco QQQ, and SPDR S&P 500 ETF into blockchain tokens. DTCC processed $47 trillion in securities transactions last year and holds about $114 trillion in custodial assets. As such institutions begin migrating ownership verification to blockchain, compliance and interoperability requirements for infrastructure reach a new level.
Transaction flow determines asset liquidity and market depth. Traditional centralized exchanges offer efficiency but pose single-point-of-failure and transparency issues. Decentralized exchanges solve transparency but face bottlenecks in liquidity aggregation and cross-chain trading. More importantly, as asset types expand from fungible tokens to RWAs, certificates, and rights, transaction flow requires more flexible matching engines and pricing mechanisms. According to the RWA market semiannual report, the number of publicly distributed RWA asset holders grew from 579,000 to 947,000 in the first half of 2026—a 63.6% increase. Transaction flow infrastructure must support this rapid expansion of user scale.
Application integration is where digital asset value is ultimately realized. The purpose of asset issuance is utilization—whether as payment tools, collateral, governance certificates, or yield-bearing instruments. Application integration means blockchain infrastructure must establish seamless data and value exchange channels with DeFi protocols, payment systems, game engines, and enterprise ERP systems. Broadridge’s survey shows 84% of financial institutions list asset tokenization as a strategic priority, and 68% believe tokenization will at least partially reshape financial markets in the next three to five years. This means demand for application integration will come not only from crypto-native projects, but also from IT system upgrades in traditional financial institutions.
KONET: A Practical Direction for Digital Asset Application Infrastructure
As digital assets evolve from "crypto tokens" to "multi-type assets," KONET offers a noteworthy infrastructure case study.
Positioning and architecture. KONET is a high-performance Proof-of-Stake Layer 1 blockchain with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility. Unlike most Layer 1s focused on general smart contract development, KONET is positioned as an infrastructure layer for payment and settlement scenarios. Its ecosystem comprises the KONET mainnet, native KONET token, on-chain receipt system, KONWallet, cross-chain bridge, and KONET LAB, among other core modules.
Value in asset issuance. KONET’s EVM compatibility allows developers to migrate Ethereum asset issuance standards (ERC-20, ERC-721, etc.) at low cost, while its focus on payments gives issued assets a natural settlement efficiency advantage. The KONET network uses near-instant finality, enabling transactions to settle within seconds. This efficiency is especially meaningful for high-frequency payment assets or in-game assets.
Practice in ownership verification and transaction flow. KONET’s on-chain receipt system is a distinguishing feature. Every payment transaction generates a verifiable and immutable on-chain record. This mechanism not only meets transparency needs in payment scenarios but also provides a standardized ownership framework for broader asset types—whether for RWA yield distribution records or issuance and verification of on-chain certificates. On the transaction flow layer, KONET’s cross-chain bridge enables asset interoperability with other blockchain networks, alleviating liquidity fragmentation across multi-chain ecosystems.
Exploration in application integration. KONET’s ecosystem is built around payment, settlement, verification, and commercial applications. Its KONET LAB developer platform aims to lower the technical barriers for enterprises to adopt blockchain-based payments and asset management. Industry trends indicate Web3’s core driver is shifting from asset speculation to real-world applications centered on stablecoins and asset tokenization. KONET’s payment-centric approach to building an application integration layer aligns with this trend.
Market performance and scale. As of July 23, 2026, Gate market data shows KONET priced at $0.023920, with a market cap of $11,008,200, ranking 1,021st. The past 7 days saw a 41.60% increase, the past 30 days a -28.81% change, and the past year a 4.21% rise. The 24-hour trading volume is $35,400, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens. Market sentiment is neutral. This scale makes KONET a small-to-medium project in the crypto market, but its positioning in payment infrastructure structurally aligns with the trend toward digital asset diversification.
It’s important to note that KONET’s market performance remains influenced by overall crypto sentiment. On July 23, 2026, Bitcoin price was around $65,797, down 0.78% in 24 hours; Ethereum price was about $1,925.92. The market is generally volatile, with greater price swings for small-cap tokens. KONET’s -28.81% drop over the past 30 days and +41.60% rise in the past 7 days reflect high price elasticity—indicating both upside potential when its direction is recognized and downside risk under limited liquidity.
Conclusion
The boundaries of digital assets are rapidly expanding. From BTC and ETH to on-chain certificates, gaming assets, RWAs, and digital rights, this expansion is not just about richer asset categories—it marks a structural shift in the crypto industry from "asset speculation" to "asset utility."
This transformation places systemic demands on blockchain infrastructure: asset issuance requires compliance frameworks and standardized protocols; ownership verification needs legal linkage between on-chain and off-chain rights; transaction flow must support flexible pricing and efficient settlement for heterogeneous assets; application integration must bridge data and value channels between crypto ecosystems and traditional business systems.
KONET, as a Layer 1 blockchain focused on payment and settlement scenarios, offers practical paths in standardized asset issuance, on-chain receipt mechanisms for ownership verification, cross-chain interoperability for transaction flow, and developer ecosystem for application integration. Its EVM compatibility and near-instant finality design give it foundational value amid the trend toward diversified digital assets.
Of course, competition in digital asset tokenization infrastructure remains in its early stages. Ethereum continues to lead in institutional tokenized asset markets, with regulated products running at about $15.5 billion on-chain. Solana’s high performance and low fees have attracted partnerships with institutions like SBI Holdings. Emerging Layer 1 and Layer 2 projects are exploring their own niches. Whether KONET can build a deep enough moat in the payment vertical depends on its ecosystem expansion, developer adoption, and subsequent market validation.
What’s certain is that the evolution of digital assets from "crypto tokens" to "on-chain finance" will not stop. The competition in infrastructure is, at its core, a contest over "how digital assets will be created, verified, circulated, and used in the future." And this question is only just beginning to be seriously answered.
FAQ
Q: What is digital asset tokenization?
Digital asset tokenization is the process of representing ownership or yield rights of real-world assets (such as stocks, bonds, real estate, art, etc.) or digital-native entitlements (like on-chain certificates and gaming assets) as blockchain tokens. Tokenization enables programmability, divisibility, and 24/7 tradability, while reducing settlement costs and time.
Q: How large is the current RWA tokenization market?
As of June 30, 2026, the publicly distributed RWA market, excluding stablecoins, reached $32.65 billion. Since early 2025, the scale of on-chain tokenized RWAs has surged by 589%, surpassing $31.4 billion. Forecasts indicate the total tokenized asset market could expand to $10–18 trillion by 2030.
Q: What role does KONET play in digital asset infrastructure?
KONET is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain focused on payment and settlement scenarios. Its core features include stablecoin settlement, on-chain receipt system, near-instant transaction finality, and cross-chain asset interoperability. As digital assets expand from crypto tokens to multi-type assets, KONET positions itself as an infrastructure layer supporting payments, verification, and commercial applications.
Q: What is the attitude of traditional financial institutions toward asset tokenization?
According to Broadridge’s July 2026 survey of 200 North American financial services executives, 84% of financial institutions list asset tokenization as a strategic priority. 68% believe tokenization will at least partially reshape financial markets in the next three to five years. Institutions like BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Franklin Templeton have launched tokenized funds or settlement services.
Q: What are the main challenges facing digital asset tokenization?
Key challenges include: regulatory uncertainty (the most common barrier), operational complexity in integrating blockchain technology into existing financial systems, insufficient on-chain activity for tokenized assets (56% of tokenized RWAs have zero weekly on-chain activity), and structural issues with liquidity concentration in a handful of leading assets.
