Envisioning a new narrative for RWA+ games: Will it become the engine of this bull run?

1. Has the bull run arrived?

Looking back from November 2025, two years later, at the magnificent cryptocurrency market over the past two years, one might be surprised to find that October 23, 2023, could be a typical marker for the start of this bull run: within 24 hours, BTC surged directly from 30,000U to 34,000U. Many of my friends who had heavily invested around 20,000U were overjoyed: "See, see, I told you the crypto bull run would definitely come!" Meanwhile, some of my friends who missed the opportunity and felt conflicted still insisted: "The current on-chain data shows no new money entering the market, and the total supply of stablecoins like USDT is still at a low point. This is a fake bull run amplified by Bitcoin ETF news, and there will be a correction!"

The positive viewpoint of "the bull has arrived" is very clear, the three major benefits in the future are enough to support the bull run:

1. Bitcoin ETF accelerates the entry of funds from traditional financial institutions;

2. Bitcoin's halving in May 2024 will raise mining costs to over 28,000;

3. The United States does not raise interest rates and may even lower them;

Regardless of whether it is a real bull or a fake bull, what I've been pondering is: to support a real bull run that lasts at least 12 months, there must be a new narrative of progress evolving across the entire industry. Among the three favorable factors supporting the bull run mentioned above, the first and the third are external forces, while the second is the four-year halving rule that everyone on Earth knows since the BTC white paper was released. So what are the new industry narratives that can support this bull run? If we don't develop properly ourselves and rely solely on external information and policies, it is highly likely to be a fleeting moment.

Let's take a look at the development trajectory of the last bull run: starting from the summer of DeFi in July 2020, Bitcoin began to soar from around 10,000 U. DeFi was a major innovation in the industry, simulating some functions of the real-world financial system using smart contracts; it allowed for collateralized earning, decentralized trading, derivatives, and more. Then some influencers started to call for trades; after that, the application products of NFT and GameFi 1.0 emerged, allowing many novice users to enter the market without needing to learn the knowledge-intensive DeFi, and they could also play and, importantly, get rich quickly. Finally, the concept of the metaverse became popular, with Facebook rebranding to Meta. The bull market peaked in November 2021, with Bitcoin's price reaching 69,000 U.

2. The New Narrative of This Bull Run

Did you see? At least Defi, NFT, Gamefi 1.0, and the metaverse are the four innovations that were evolution points for the crypto industry in the last bull run. So what are the new evolution points in this bull run, or the new narratives we often talk about? Let's summarize:

1. SocialFi decentralized social networking, a case in point is the recently emerging Friend.Tech;

2. Chain games 2.0, is the web 2.5 chain game: assets are on-chain while the game is centralized, focusing on highly playable games, and then making use of on-chain assets.

3. RWA (Real World Asset), a massive track that can link the vast old money of WEB2 and the crypto industry. The Depin, which has been repeatedly mentioned in the HK crypto circle in the past few days, is also one of the RWA tracks;

4. The rise of the Bitcoin ecosystem is notable; after all, whether in WEB2 or WEB3, BTC has been viewed as a value repository similar to gold. Why can't we do something with it? Even gold can have various derivative products in the financial industry.

Today, let's focus on the third point RWA, because I have always felt that RWA is an extension narrative of the last bull run's engine, DeFi. Think about it, DeFi generates a bunch of virtual currencies through code, then plays with them using smart contracts, simulating the real financial system. It's like children playing house, with a dad, a mom, pots and pans, and rice and oil, BUT, what impact does this have on the real world? None! Currently, apart from BTC having a certain level of consensus in the WEB2 world, other coins are seen as air by outsiders, so what does a bunch of extremely complex operations based on air really mean?

Does that mean Defi is meaningless? Not at all! It can only be said that the DEFI that started in the previous bull run is just the first half of this new narrative. It has laid the groundwork for participation, the rules, and the direction. It's like wanting to prepare a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast; DEFI has helped you set up the kitchen, the cooking utensils, and the chefs. Now we are just waiting for the ingredients to arrive so we can officially start cooking. Therefore, I understand RWA to be the second half of DEFI, just like the two parts of "A Chinese Odyssey," "The Fortune Teller" and "The Wedding of the Monkey King." The two must be viewed together to be truly beautiful.

3. How to Play with RWA

What is RWA? It stands for Real World Asset, which translates fully to "tokenization of real-world assets". Corresponding to real-world assets, RWAs can also be classified into tangible and intangible assets based on the type of underlying assets. Tangible assets mainly include real estate, commodities, artworks, etc.; intangible assets include bonds, stocks, carbon credits, etc. Since RWAs are based on real-world assets, there must be an off-chain process for asset verification and value determination supported by law, followed by tokenization through DeFi protocols and circulation in on-chain markets, while monitoring the value changes of off-chain assets through oracles.

RWA actually already has some practical use cases. The stablecoins we often use (USDT, USDC, etc.) are RWA, such as the physical asset "Satoshi Island" and the hottest financial asset RWA US Treasury bonds this year. These are all cases of on-chain token issuance supported by physical assets. In fact, the idea of a Bitcoin ETF is a reverse financial RWA, where WEB2 funds participate in Bitcoin investment through a compliant ETF financial product; while RWA US Treasury bonds allow WEB3 funds to invest in US Treasury bonds without needing to cash out, earning about 5% annually.

The fervent wave of STO hype in 2018 was an early attempt at RWA. During that period, a group emerged aiming to bring traditional assets into compliance and onto the blockchain, giving rise to several Web3 startup projects targeting this goal, such as tZERO, Polymath, Aspen, and others. Some case studies were also attempted, like Aspen REIT, Resolute.Fund, and Fundament Group. However, due to various factors such as market conditions, economic cycles, and regulation, the STO market did not develop as smoothly as anticipated.

The current mainstream approach to RWA is relatively simple, which is to tokenize (Tokenization) in a way similar to securitization, allowing funds in the crypto space (such as various stablecoins) to have ownership or revenue rights of physical or financial assets in the real world. This is a simple one-to-one correspondence, and ownership is also subject to the restrictions of real-world laws. If we want to diversify the RWA approach and encourage more users to participate, we need to design better application scenarios for RWA. We believe that this will shine in the current bull run and can be defined as the basic application infrastructure of RWA.

Imagine this, if in a game scenario similar to "Monopoly" or "The Sims", you enter a stock exchange, connect your wallet, and really can use the game tokens or U in your wallet to purchase stocks from certain companies, then enjoy the benefits they provide you. Or when we take a virtual tour of a city through gamified scenarios, we can also conveniently purchase shares of REITs for the city's landmark buildings, becoming one of the investors in physical assets. Isn't that exciting? Of course, we are only considering the user's product experience here; regarding laws and regulations and how to connect with the real securities department, that requires a project party with great skills.

In fact, the RWA basic application settings described above can be considered part of the metaverse in a broad sense. However, due to its safety and more hardcore integration with WEB2, it needs to be separated out as a new narrative. Currently, it seems that game-scenario RWA should be able to attract more users. Not only can it link the tokens in WEB3 players' wallets with the real world, but it can also allow WEB2 players to experience the uniqueness of WEB3 products: there is no need to complete so many document signings in the real world; a wallet connection is sufficient. The shares held are continuously reflected on the chain and can be traded anytime.

So the question arises, how can we make it smoother for Web2 players to enter Web3 and recognize the new gameplay of RWA+ games? We can put ourselves in their shoes and think about what difficulties a Web2 user in the real world would face when trying to enter the virtual world of RWA+Web3 or even the early stages of the metaverse, and what desires they might have within.

First of all, they will be confused by the influx of Web3 information that they have never encountered before, such as public chains, wallets, DeFi, and other basic knowledge. It seems simple and clear, but it is unfathomable, and learning it is a tangled web, leaving them unsure of how to start. Then they will be attracted by various innovative projects and models in Web3, seeing one wealth myth after another, always eager to jump in, but afraid of becoming the leeks that get cut, leaving them with nothing. Therefore, they seek advice from others everywhere, hoping to learn the true scriptures of Web3 investment or find reliable investment advice. Furthermore, they hope to find a truly enjoyable gaming experience in the virtual world of Web3, and even more, they wish that the noble identity of the virtual world can extend into the real world, allowing them to participate in some high-end activities with a sense of ritual, achieving a full integration of online and offline.

The imagination above seems too beautiful, but it is indeed the most simple and fundamental wish in the hearts of most players transitioning from Web2 to Web3. So, are there any products or games on the market now that can meet or partially meet the above needs? We specifically scoured the market and found the following cases for everyone's reference.

4. Case Studies of RWA+ Games

1. DeFi Kingdom

Want to learn about Web3 but find reading articles, studying white papers, and doing desktop research too boring? Is there a product that allows you to learn Web3 knowledge while playing games? There really is such a project, DeFi Kingdom is one of them.

DeFi Kingdom is a product from the last bull run, a Play2Earn game based on the Harmony blockchain. But it is not just a game; it is also a Dex and an NFT marketplace. The entire game map can be said to visualize and gamify the functions of Dex and NFTs. For example, in the Gardens, users can provide LP through the Druid and receive Jewel token rewards. In the Marketplace, users can purchase the main game token Jewel, stake it in the Jeweler bank to earn xJewel tokens, and enjoy a series of rights and governance privileges in the project, participating in votes. Users can also use the Trader to complete exchanges between Jewel tokens, Harmony tokens, stablecoins, and various other mainstream coins.

Another aspect of the game is the gameplay based on hero NFTs, including hero blind boxes, completing tasks for rewards, PVP battles, and so on. Users can purchase or lease heroes in the Tavern and breed them to produce offspring heroes. Heroes have different attributes such as lineage, profession, rarity, and ability values, and the quality and attributes of the offspring produced through breeding are also related to these attributes. The higher the lineage level, the more times breeding can occur, and the lower the breeding costs.