Most RWA conversations still revolve around applications, interfaces, and token standards. That focus misses where the real friction appears.
RWAs rarely fail at the app layer. They fail at settlement.
When settlement happens on fully transparent infrastructure, every trade becomes a signal. Positions, counterparties, and timing are exposed by default. That might work for experimentation, but it breaks down quickly once regulated capital is involved.
Real financial markets don’t operate on radical transparency. They operate on controlled disclosure. Privacy is not optional, it’s structural.
That’s why the weakest part of the onchain stack is finally being exposed. And why settlement design will decide which RWA platforms scale and which quietly stall.
I explored this dynamic in more depth in today’s long form.
