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Exploring the Security Issues of Real World Assets (RWA)

Published: 19 November 2024 Publication History

Abstract

Having real-world assets (RWA) tokenized on blockchains has recently been intensively discussed and recognized by DeFi ecosystem and traditional financial institutions as the next growth frontier, with its total value locked (TVL) surpassing \2.5 billion as of September 30, 2023. However, the operational mechanics and security issues of RWA remain largely uncharted. To fill this gap, we propose the ever-first research on its anatomy and security issues. We initially outline two strategies for tokenizing real-world assets, and then we analyze the potential security risks within six associated entities (e.g., investors and smart contracts). Furthermore, we conduct a measurement of 39 mainstream RWA projects and reveal that RWA projects are facing risk deficiencies in areas of on-chain investors, stablecoins, blockchain oracles, project teams, and off-chain assets. Our research proves potential risks and threats in the RWA area and offers guidance for the burgeoning RWA market.

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    DeFi '24: Proceedings of the Workshop on Decentralized Finance and Security
    November 2024
    37 pages
    ISBN:9798400712272
    DOI:10.1145/3689931
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License.

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    Published: 19 November 2024

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    1. blockchain
    2. cyber security
    3. real world assets

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