RWA Market Recap: Tariffs Take Effect, Market Reacts

Today, a sweeping array of tariffs is set to go into effect, and the market has reacted. In today's update, we explore how the crypto economy is holding

Today marks the day a sweeping array of tariffs, imposed by President Trump over the last few months, are set to go into effect. These tariffs, a key part of the administration's trade policy, aim to protect American industries, reduce trade deficits, and pressure trading partners like China to negotiate better terms.

Since the beginning of President Trump’s term in January 2025, his administration has been rolling out a broad strategy to renegotiate trade deals and impose tariffs to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and protect domestic industries from foreign competition.

Some of the most significant tariffs include 25% on Canada/Mexico goods, 20% on China, and 25% on steel, aluminum, and cars over the last few weeks. Many of these tariffs begin to take effect today.

Bitcoin (BTC) is currently down 2.9% this week and trades at around $85,300. The crypto slid to lows of $81,500 but bounced back strongly from those levels.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 opened with a slight 0.5% decline, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.6%.

Overall, the macro economy is beginning to show glimmers of strength but remains slightly bearish-leaning. This is reflected in the CMC Crypto Fear and Greed Index, which sits at 29—down from 33 last week.

As the real-world asset (RWA) sector continues to be a subject of keen interest, its market capitalization (mcap) has been on a downward trend since late January.

In the last seven days, the sector’s mcap dropped by almost $7.4 billion, marking a 14% decrease.

While the vast majority of RWA tokens encountered a loss over the last week, some were hit particularly hard. The worst-affected assets saw a decline of over 20%.

Among the top 100 RWA tokens by mcap, these assets suffered the greatest losses:

A select few RWA tokens stayed in the green this week. Excluding less liquid tokens (<$500K daily trading volume), the best performers include:

Source: DefiLlama

Source: Google Trends

As one of the fastest growing industries, the RWA sector regularly sees major developments and achievements.

This week was no exception. Among this week’s most significant updates: