Jakob Kronbichler, co-founder and CEO of Clearpool, has some interesting insights about the rise of private credit tokenization and its impact on DeFi yields.
Tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) is becoming a big deal in both traditional finance and decentralized finance. More and more institutional players are turning to crypto solutions. For instance, platforms like Tradable have already tokenized $1.7 billion in private credit on ZKsync. This shows a growing demand for high-quality assets and better access to liquidity.
In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, Kronbichler talked about this shift. He mentioned that as governments and regulators create clearer rules for digital assets, institutions will feel more confident using tokenized financial instruments. He also pointed out that during President Trump’s administration, more progressive regulations in the U.S. could lead to global clarity, helping projects grow and overcome past hurdles.
Kronbichler believes that private credit represents “DeFi’s next big yield opportunity.” He noted that traditionally, private credit markets have been opaque and illiquid. However, by tokenizing private credit, new yield opportunities can open up for investors who previously had no access to these deals. Plus, everything remains transparent on the blockchain, with all deposits and withdrawals visible to everyone.
He highlighted a trend: traditional private credit capital is moving onchain, and he expects this to continue growing in the coming years.
In August 2024, Colin Butler, who heads institutional capital at Polygon, noted that tokenized RWAs present a $30 trillion market opportunity. This is largely driven by high-net-worth individuals looking for liquidity in traditionally illiquid assets. Kronbichler confirmed that this trend is still active today, as institutions are entering RWA lending pools. Clearpool has already facilitated over $660 million in loans.
Participants in this space include investment funds, family offices, and TradFi institutions exploring DeFi lending for higher yields, along with rewards from protocol tokens.
Kronbichler also discussed tokenized treasuries. He described them as offering a mix of safety, yield, and onchain accessibility. They are becoming the go-to “risk-free” rate for DeFi. These tokenized treasuries help stabilize DeFi protocols while attracting risk-averse investors. For example, Solana emerged as the third-largest blockchain for tokenized treasuries in late 2024, thanks to ongoing interest from institutional players.