$24b RWA gold rush gets its elite bootcamp in Ascend startup accelerator

As RWAs cement themselves as crypto’s second-fastest-growing sector, a who’s-who of fintech and blockchain heavyweights are launching Ascend, a hyper-selective program designed to turn startups into the standard-bearers of institutional adoption.

According to a press release shared with crypto.news on August 4, Odisea has teamed up with an all-star roster of backers, including Plume, Galaxy Ventures, and Anchorage Digital, to launch Ascend, an accelerator exclusively for RWA startups with live products and institutional ambitions.

The program, which will accept just six to eight teams in its first cohort, offers hands-on mentorship from veterans who’ve scaled billion-dollar platforms, along with access to a curated network of investors and regulators. Per the statement, the Ascend startup accelerator will culminate in a demo day and potential access to a $500,000 discretionary fund.

Bridging the institutional gap in crypto’s fastest-growing sector

The Ascend accelerator arrives at a pivotal moment for real-world asset tokenization, a sector that has quietly become blockchain’s most credible bridge to traditional finance. While the $24 billion RWA market has grown nearly fivefold since 2022, its infrastructure remains fragmented between institutional-grade compliance demands and DeFi’s permissionless innovation. This is the chasm Ascend’s architects aim to cross.

The program’s selection criteria reveal its institutional focus: Only startups with live products and measurable traction need apply. Unlike typical accelerators that bet on ideas, Ascend targets teams already navigating the complex realities of asset tokenization—from reconciling KYC requirements with blockchain’s pseudonymity to designing oracle systems that accurately price illiquid assets.

The launch of the Ascend accelerator comes as tokenized U.S. Treasuries demonstrate the explosive potential of institutional-grade RWAs. What began as a $100 million niche in 2023 has ballooned into a $7.5 billion market dominated by BlackRock’s BUIDL at $2.9 billion in AUM and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI, which hosts $750 million in AUM.

These products aren’t experiments. They’re production-scale solutions attracting real capital by solving tangible problems: eliminating settlement delays, automating compliance, and unlocking global liquidity pools.

As the RWA sector pushes toward broader integration with capital markets, the stakes have changed. Institutions are no longer asking if tokenization works, they’re asking who can execute it securely, compliantly, and at scale. Ascend’s success will hinge not on speculation, but on its ability to produce answers to that question.