The segment within the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market with the most physical characteristics has seen a shift in leadership. Long regarded primarily as a cross-border interbank settlement network, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) has now officially surpassed Ethereum in terms of market capitalization growth for tokenized commodities.
Analysis of joint data released by the platform Token Terminal and the RWA Foundation for October 2026 reveals this significant shift: since the beginning of the year, net capital inflows into tokenized commodities on the XRPL have totaled $2.2 billion. During the same period, Ethereum attracted $1.6 billion, falling to second place.
Other major L1 networks are significantly behind the market leader: Avalanche ranks third with $334.5 million, followed by BNB Chain with $57.5 million.
Why are enterprises choosing XRPL over Ethereum?
This shift in leadership stems from fundamental differences in network architecture. The report notes that, unlike Ethereum—where issuing assets involves unpredictable gas fees and requires developers to write complex smart contracts—the XRP Ledger enables users to tokenize real-world assets at the protocol level. Its built-in IOU mechanism reduces transaction costs to less than one cent and settles transactions in just 3 to 5 seconds.
The main driver pushing XRPL beyond Ethereum comes from the energy sector, with the largest share of liquidity originating from tokenized power generation contracts, JMWH, launched by Latin American company Justoken.
Where is the new funding going?
According to on-chain data from RWA.xyz as of October 5, 2026, XRPL's rise to the top significantly boosted network activity:
- Monthly RWA transfer volume increased more than 224-fold to a record $7.03 billion.
- The represented asset value increased by 56% over 30 days to $4.52 billion.
- The market capitalization of stablecoins on XRPL has reached $1.25 billion, largely driven by the integration of the new native token RLUSD. The monthly stablecoin turnover totaled $5.01 billion.
Beyond commodity markets, key players from adjacent RWA sectors are also adopting the XRPL infrastructure. The ecosystem currently includes investment fund Franklin Templeton ($48.3 million), platform Ondo Finance ($187.5 million), and Middle Eastern developer DAMAC. The latter has tokenized partial ownership of premium real estate projects in Dubai—Park Ridge Tower, Prive, and J One.
Ethereum still maintains global dominance in total value locked in RWA, primarily due to assets tied to U.S. Treasuries. However, in the realm of physical commodities and raw materials, industrial capital clearly favors technology supported by Ripple.