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Originally published in Chinese by Odaily. Translated and adapted by Cici Lu, Head of Research at Matrixdock.
Amid shifting Federal Reserve policies, persistent inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty, investors are increasingly turning to low-risk, yield-generating assets. The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 has accelerated institutional interest in on-chain finance, signaling a broader shift toward compliant solutions. In parallel, gold is re-emerging as a critical strategic asset, with growing scrutiny over traditional reserve practices driving attention toward transparent, blockchain-based alternatives like tokenized real-world assets.
So, where is the next growth inflection point for RWAs? According to Matrixdock, it lies in intelligence and automation. By leveraging AI, investors can manage on-chain assets more efficiently, optimize strategies, and reduce transaction costs—empowering more people to participate in the next era of asset management services.
To explore the future of RWAs, the challenges, and the potential breakthroughs, we sat down with Matrixdock’s Head, Eva Meng, to hear from someone actively building the RWA space.
Odaily: With blockchain technology advancing, we’ve seen many crypto “innovation” projects. You have extensive experience in both the Internet and blockchain industries. What motivated you to enter the RWA space and help build Matrixdock?
Eva: While we’ve seen waves of blockchain “innovation” over the years, many products remain confined within the crypto circle. We’re still far from truly impacting the global financial system or ordinary people’s lives.
If there’s one area with a real chance to break the barrier between crypto and traditional finance, I believe it’s RWA. It’s not just about putting assets on-chain—it’s about reshaping how finance works and redefining trust. RWA could make the crypto ecosystem more robust and traditional finance more efficient and transparent.
I’ve always believed that the value of technology shouldn’t stay trapped in code—it should actually change the world.
Back when I worked in gaming, I learned to center innovation around user needs—make technology user-friendly and lower the barrier to entry. That mindset stayed with me when I entered blockchain. At Bitdeer, we used hash rate slicing to turn mining into a shared model—like ride-sharing—so that global users could easily participate. That was one of Web3’s earliest versions of the “sharing economy.” Later, at BTC.com’s mining pool, we launched “lucky value” tracking for users to help miners optimize efficiency.
These experiences taught me to start with real needs and use technology to simplify complexity. RWA has the potential to make Web3 influence mainstream finance and even reshape wealth distribution—and that’s exactly what we’re doing at Matrixdock.
Odaily: You mentioned using technology to simplify complexity. What pain points does RWA solve in traditional finance, and how is Matrixdock helping?
Eva: Traditional finance is slow, costly, and fragmented. For example, bond syndication involves siloed teams and manual processes, driving up costs and delays. RWA tokenization addresses this by providing a single, tamper-proof source of truth on the blockchain. Real-time settlement, smart contract automation, and transparent records enhance efficiency and reduce reliance on intermediaries.
As blockchain and smart contract technologies evolve—and real-world use cases of RWA continue to prove themselves—we’re seeing increasing interest from institutions and regulators. Banks like JPMorgan are exploring tokenized bonds, while jurisdictions like Switzerland and Singapore are taking a forward-thinking approach to RWA regulation.
At Matrixdock, we deeply understand the pain points of traditional finance. We lead the RWA space in transparency, compliance, and user experience. For instance, all our assets are fully reserved and independently audited—tokens are only minted once the real-world asset is secured. We comply with global KYC/AML standards and work with trusted institutional partners.
Our team combines expertise from both TradFi and Web3, allowing us to deliver yield-generating, tradable assets that make RWA investment more accessible and practical. Our U.S. Treasury token (STBT) reached $120 million in AUM within a year, becoming a core asset for stablecoin issuers and DeFi protocols. XAUm, our tokenized gold launched less than six months ago, is already deeply integrated into DeFi use cases like trading, lending, and hedging—bringing more flexibility to gold as an asset.
One key challenge is the shift from account-based systems—like bank accounts and brokerage platforms—to wallet-based systems, where users must manage private keys and interact with smart contracts. This can be unfamiliar and intimidating for traditional investors. Matrixdock addresses this by offering an easy onboarding experience, from compliant KYC to smooth on-chain execution. Our user-friendly web interface simplifies the process, making it easy for both individuals and institutions to access tokenized assets with a familiar user experience.
Odaily: Speaking of gold, market concerns about physical gold transparency have surfaced, like Elon Musk questioning the authenticity of U.S. Treasury gold reserves. How does Matrixdock’s gold token solve traditional gold investment pain points?
Eva: The traditional gold market faces two major challenges: a lack of reserve verifiability and limited market accessibility. Audits of physical gold are often infrequent and opaque, making it difficult for investors to confirm holdings. Meanwhile, gold trading is confined to specific geographic locations and time zones.
Elon Musk’s recent comments questioning the authenticity of U.S. gold reserves at Fort Knox reflect a broader issue—gold relies on trust, but trust without real-time verification falls short.
That’s exactly what XAUm is built to solve. By leveraging blockchain, XAUm brings transparency and trust back to the gold reserve. Unlike paper gold or futures contracts that are often fractionally backed, XAUm is fully backed 1:1 by LBMA-certified gold. The physical gold is sourced from top-tier refiners such as Heraeus and Point Gold and stored in world-class vaults including Brink’s and Malca Amit.
All reserves are independently audited, and more importantly, users can verify holdings in real-time on-chain. Every XAUm holder effectively becomes their own auditor.
XAUm is built for institutional-scale transactions. Matrixdock is directly connected to multiple LBMA-accredited refiners, allowing for efficient sourcing and fulfillment. During a recent gold supply squeeze, we delivered over $10 million in institutional orders within a single day—often at more competitive pricing than the broader market.
XAUm offers digital asset attributes. It trades 24/7, can be used as collateral across DeFi protocols, and interacts with other on-chain assets like Bitcoin to unlock greater capital efficiency.
In short, XAUm brings gold out of locked vaults and into an open, programmable financial ecosystem. It’s not just a digital representation of gold—it’s a new standard for transparency, accessibility, and utility in the age of on-chain finance.
Odaily: You’ve discussed tokenized standard assets like treasuries and gold. What are your thoughts on tokenizing non-standard assets? Is Matrixdock exploring this?
Eva: Tokenizing non-standard assets like private equity or supply chain financing is a promising idea, and demand for it was evident during DeFi Summer. However, the current infrastructure still lacks the transparency, liquidity, and credit mechanisms needed to support these asset classes effectively.
At Matrixdock, we see non-standard RWA tokenization as the next evolution—but it depends on both market readiness and infrastructure maturity. Our approach is simple: Specialize in standardized assets, then expand. That’s why our current focus is on highly liquid, widely recognized assets like U.S. Treasuries and gold, which have established markets and are easy to integrate into DeFi.
Looking ahead, we’re open to tokenizing non-standard assets—as long as they meet our core principles: transparency, liquidity, and composability.
Odaily: Matrixdock recently announced deep integration of RWA and AI. As the first RWA player to propose this concept, can you explain why AI is essential? How will investors benefit?
Eva: Beyond growing market demand, I often think about what the future of RWAs looks like. Today, both real-world assets and AI are gaining traction—and AI is no longer theoretical. It has moved beyond the proof-of-concept stage and is now being deployed across industries in real-world applications. This trend is accelerating, and its convergence with blockchain is inevitable.
At Matrixdock, we believe the next major leap in financial infrastructure will come from the deep integration of AI and blockchain. Tokenizing assets is just the beginning—the real innovation lies in what happens after: how these assets are held, traded, structured, and leveraged. That’s where transformative value is unlocked.
As AI adoption grows, we’ll see the emergence of AI agents acting as portfolio managers executing strategies. These agents require on-chain, programmable, and callable assets—precisely the kind of digital building blocks that RWAs can become.
This aligns directly with Matrixdock’s vision to “make assets come alive.” We call it Financial Lego: a modular, interoperable framework where tokenized real-world assets are not just digital wrappers but fully usable components across both DeFi and CeFi ecosystems.
Our products—like STBT (tokenized U.S. Treasuries) and XAUm (tokenized gold)—are designed to be more than representations of traditional assets. They are smart, composable primitives that plug into wallets, APIs, and DeFi protocols. Whether you’re an individual, institution, or AI agent, you can construct dynamic financial strategies—like stacking Lego bricks into entirely new structures.
And we’re only scratching the surface. Today, these assets are powering use cases like stablecoin collateral, treasury management, and macro hedging. But tomorrow? The possibilities will extend far beyond what we can imagine today.
Odaily: Thank you, Eva, for sharing your insights on AI-powered finance. One last question—investors are curious: Is now a good time to invest in gold? Any advice?
Eva: Trump’s unpredictable tariffs and ongoing geopolitical tensions have intensified global uncertainty, fueling demands for gold. While prices are hitting record highs, gold’s true value lies in long-term protection—not short-term speculation. Many experts suggest dedicating 5% to 10% of a portfolio to gold as a strategic hedge.
At Matrixdock, we’ve designed XAUm to make gold both accessible and “lively”. One standout feature is our smart contract-powered dollar-cost averaging (DCA) service, which allows users to purchase gold at set time intervals automatically. This removes the stress of market timing and reduces emotionally driven decisions—bringing a traditional institutional strategy to everyday investors.
Most importantly, XAUm turns static gold into a productive asset. Traditional holdings often sit idle in vaults. With XAUm, gold can be used as collateral to borrow stablecoins or bitcoins, deployed in DeFi to earn yield —enabling investors to maintain gold exposure while unlocking its liquidity and improving capital efficiency.
In summary, if you’re looking for long-term protection, now is a prudent time to start investing in gold regularly. And if you’re looking to make your capital work harder, XAUm opens the door to a more dynamic, productive way to utilize gold.
Visit Matrixdock website for more details: www.matrixdock.com.
