# 🧪Case Study

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The $400 Trillion Illiquidity Trap - Why Traditional RWA Markets Fail
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Alice, a dentist in Toronto, wants to diversify into US real estate. She spends weeks finding a $500,000 Florida condo, wires $50,000 for a 10% down payment, and drowns in paperwork: KYC forms, notarized documents, and cross-border tax affidavits. After 60 days of delays (and $15,000 in broker/lawyer fees), she finally "owns" the asset. But when her daughter’s tuition bill arrives unexpectedly, she’s trapped: selling takes months, banks won’t accept the property as quick collateral, and her capital remains frozen. She earns 4% annual yield paid quarterly—if the property manager reports accurately.

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Real-world assets (RWAs) like real estate, bonds, farmland, and commodities form the backbone of the global economy. As of 2025, over $400 trillion in value is locked in these markets. Yet, less than 0.03% of these assets are accessible via blockchain technology.
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<h2 align="center">Traditional RWAs: Broken by Design</h2>

<table><thead><tr><th width="183" align="center">Problem </th><th align="center">Traditional RWA Market Reality</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="center">Liquidity</td><td align="center">Assets like property or bonds take months to sell or settle</td></tr><tr><td align="center">Access</td><td align="center">$50K+ minimums, paperwork, and local restrictions limit participation</td></tr><tr><td align="center">Transparency</td><td align="center">Ownership is hidden in PDFs, lawyers, and private registries</td></tr><tr><td align="center">Settlement Time</td><td align="center">30–180 days is common for real estate, funds, and bond trades</td></tr><tr><td align="center">Middlemen &#x26; Fees</td><td align="center">Lawyers, brokers, notaries, custodians – all take cuts</td></tr><tr><td align="center">Capital Inefficiency</td><td align="center">You own real estate, but you can’t use it as collateral instantly</td></tr><tr><td align="center">Geographic Barriers</td><td align="center">Investors are locked into local markets; foreign investment is complex</td></tr><tr><td align="center">Yield Asymmetry</td><td align="center">The rich access 8–12% real yields. The average saver gets &#x3C;2%.</td></tr></tbody></table>
