It's been just over a month into 2025, and the changes in on-chain finance are happening at an astonishing pace.

First, let's talk about RWA—government bonds, corporate bonds, private credit, commodities—all starting to move onto the blockchain. Institutions are no longer running pilot projects; they are scaling up directly. The total on-chain RWA has already surged to $18.6 billion, an increase of $13 billion in just one year. This isn't some "innovation experiment"; frankly, it's traditional finance finally acknowledging that the blockchain path is viable.

Even more impressive is the rapid growth of tokenized stocks. Platforms like xStocks and Ondo have moved stocks onto the chain, with market size skyrocketing from over $30 million to $850 million within a year—an increase of 27 times. 24-hour trading, fractional ownership, instant settlement—these advantages make traditional brokerage trading systems look a bit outdated.

The real ignition point came from Blackstone funds. After the BUIL fund launched on Ethereum, capital jumped from $40 million directly to $1.8 billion, and later expanded to BNB Chain and Aptos. The message behind this is clear: it's not the crypto industry in a bull market, but Wall Street institutions stepping into the game themselves.

The numbers in stablecoins are even crazier. Market cap grew to $306 billion within a year, with 30-day trading volume reaching $3.4 trillion—already surpassing the combined total of Visa, PayPal, and global remittances. Stablecoins are evolving from mere trading tools into genuine payment and transfer infrastructure.

What about regulation? Various new laws are still in the pipeline, but institutions have already sensed the trend. Stripe and PayPal are both integrating stablecoin payments—on the surface, claiming "regulatory compliance is essential," but their actions are moving at lightning speed.

In one sentence: it's not that crypto wants to infiltrate traditional finance, but that traditional finance is actively starting to adopt crypto. By the time the market collectively reacts, the word "early" might no longer even apply.