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John Patrick Mullin, the CEO of blockchain company MANTRA, has said he believes the Real-World Asset (RWA) market will eventually thin out to just a few main players. Mullen added that turning something into a token does not immediately make it more valuable, but that value creation can take numerous different forms. MANTRA, which went live in October 2024, is geared at tokenisation, helping investors undertake large RWA transactions while letting others access less liquid assets with its secure network. The firm mainly operates in Hong Kong and Singapore, and is hoping to turn over $100bn in RWA by the end of 2026.
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John Patrick Mullin, the CEO and co-founder of MANTRA, said that the Real-World Asset (RWA) market will eventually narrow down to only a few key players. According to him, the real growth for RWAs will come from the application of technology and automation within existing laws and regulations.
He pointed out that turning something into a token doesn’t automatically make it more valuable. The trick is making something that actually provides value for both the maker of the tokenized product and the person buying it.
Value creation can be in many different forms – like giving normal folks access to investments in small bits or increasing liquidity for businesses. For Mullin, the key elements to consider are a high-quality product, value creation for both the maker and the end-user.
MANTRA, which is a blockchain specifically built for RWA tokenization with a focus on compliance, went live in October 2024. Through its secure network, MANTRA allows investors to do big RWA transactions and others to access less liquid assets. MANTRA’s OM token is used for functions like staking, transactions, and within different apps.
Mullin expressed that their goal is to be the go-to place for RWAs. He believes the best way to enforce regulations and licensing is at the application level, not in the initial tech. For mass adoption of RWAs by everyday people, we’ll need open blockchains that can integrate with a wider ecosystem of decentralized finance (DeFi).
Despite the increasing popularity, Mullen acknowledges that the user experience for blockchain activities can be tough and needs to improve. To better handle RWAs, Mantra devised the Mantra Token Service which helps with burning, freezing, and reissuing tokenized assets to uphold proper governance and protect those invested.
MANTRA is making its mark primarily in Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as other regions, with a key focus on the Middle East, especially Dubai. It works with well-established names like BlackRock, SwissBorg, Ondo, Chainlink, Kelpr, and Google Cloud among others.
They are also expanding their list of DApp services. These include secondary marketplaces, a forthcoming RWA liquidity hub named Omega, and partnerships with diverse DeFi providers to facilitate borrowing, lending, and fractional real estate businesses. They’re also exploring possibilities in private credit, payments, and carbon credits.
Mullin shared that they are looking into intellectual property (IP), stating that IP could be a significant asset that, when tokenized, could be turned into financial value.
Looking forward, Mullin imagines a three-step approach to developing the RWA space – getting high-quality assets on the blockchain, focusing on liquidity and secondary market spaces, and finally, making RWAs compatible with different DeFi applications. Mullin’s ambitious goal for MANTRA is to have $100 billion in RWA total value locked (TVL) by the end of 2026.