Plume's RWA Goldmine: 2 Red-Hot dApps Set to Dominate!

Introduction

It’s not every day you find a blockchain network that does more than talk big about disrupting finance. Plume Network, with its focused push into Real World Asset Finance (RWAfi), is already putting traditional finance in the rearview mirror by merging the power of blockchain with assets like bonds, luxury goods, and infrastructure projects. Here’s a closer look at how Plume and its ecosystem of dApps are not just promising but delivering.

Building Blockchain for the Real World

Founded with one mission—turning tangible assets into on-chain powerhouses—Plume combines a robust blockchain with an obsession for real-world utility. It’s like Ethereum for the practical investor: a modular, composable, EVM-compatible platform designed to tokenize assets efficiently.

But why is this exciting? Here’s the catch: tokenization of real-world assets isn’t new, but navigating compliance, liquidity, and integration usually feels like threading a needle in the dark. Plume is solving these issues with built-in compliance tools, partnerships with regulated financial entities, and its bespoke tokenization engine. To date, Plume has onboarded tokenized assets worth over $150 million, ranging from private credit portfolios to stable government bonds.

RWAfi Ecosystem Fund: $25 Million to Kickstart Innovation

In January 2025, Plume unleashed its $25 million RWAfi Ecosystem Fund, which is like a honey pot for developers, innovators, and asset managers. Backed by industry bigwigs like Galaxy Digital, Mechanism Capital, and Hashkey, this fund is laser-focused on making real-world assets cool again, through tokenized treasuries, renewable energy credits, even AI and GPU resources.

All this might sound flamboyant, but Plume’s approach isn’t to build flashy one-time products. It’s to grow a full-stack financial universe, targeting areas like institutional finance, retail adoption, and even underserved markets globally.

Data Points Worth Noting:

• The network's recently concluded testnet boasted over 18M wallets, 3.75M actives, and over 280M transactions.
• Plume's pre-deposit campaign surpassed expectations, raising over $30M in under 90 minutes.
• Plume Network has onboarded over $4 billion in assets across more than 180 protocols within its ecosystem.

Meet the Heroes: Nest Credit & Cultured Finance

The Plume ecosystem wouldn’t be thriving without its killer apps, and leading the charge are Nest Credit and Cultured RWA. Let’s take a closer look into these two rockstars:

Nest Credit: High Yields for Real-World Investors

One of the flagship dApps within the Plume ecosystem is Nest, a staking protocol designed to offer institutional-grade yields backed by real-world assets. Nest enables users to earn market-leading APYs through various vaults, each tailored to different investment strategies and asset compositions. 

How it works:

Choose from five different vaults, each tied to real-world investment strategies.

• Nest Institutional Core: Offers 10.49% APY through Elixir’s deUSD stablecoin, which is backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL & Hamilton Lane’s SCOPE fund.
• Nest Treasuries: Offers yields from Moody’s rated treasuries with Anemoy LTF, Mountain USDM, and M^0, with a 5.50% APY.
• Nest RWA Vault: A heavy-hitter vault giving 30% APY, featuring assets from Blackstone, Credbull, Carlyle, and more.
• Nest USDY: Earn stable 4.35% APY with Ondo USDY as the backing asset.
• Nest High Yield: Focuses on assets like Ethena’s sUSDe and USDe, offering variable APY.

Nest’s yield generating vaults, Source: Nest

Nest’s Institutional Core (nELIXIR) already boasts off $27M in TVL and is backed by 1,351 holders. Moreover, every asset is professionally vetted by Cicada Partners, and contracts are Slowmist-audited, adding credibility. With this traction, it’s able to attract traditional investors who are curious about getting their feet wet in DeFi without swimming in shark-infested waters.

Our mission is to bring the world closer to a global, permissionless, onchain economy where everyone can earn from real-world yields. ~ Alex Palmer, Head of Product at Plume.

Cultured RWA: Greasing the Gears of Liquidity

Another notable dApp within Plume's ecosystem is Cultured Finance. It’s the missing link for tokenized assets: liquidity. Tokenizing real-world assets is only half the battle—ensuring they are tradable and accessible is the other half, and Cultured nails it. Through partnerships with marketplaces and liquidity networks, it helps DeFi players and institutions efficiently tap into tokenized asset pools.

Trading markets, Source: Cultured

At its core, Cultured functions as an oracle-based prediction game, allowing participants to forecast future price movements of various assets. Users can place bets on whether asset prices will rise or fall, creating an interactive and engaging environment for financial speculation.

Cultured is also experimenting with secondary markets for niche tokenized assets, including carbon credits and private equity stakes, offering another layer of value to its users. It also aims to launch 25X leverage, enabling trades across everything from crypto to culture.

Leverage trading interface, Source: Cultured

Plume’s Key Partnerships: Collaboration for Scale

Plume has mastered the art of bringing the right people to the table. The network is turbocharged by partnerships aimed at long-term growth.

1. Ondo Finance
   Ondo’s tokenized US Treasuries are a hot DeFi trend, and Plume snagged the exclusive native issuance of these assets on its network. Treasuries, once considered boring, are now blockchain favorites because they offer stability, yield, and liquidity—all ingredients for a robust DeFi ecosystem.
2. Royco Protocol
   Securing liquidity is a headache for any emerging app. Plume’s tie-up with Royco Protocol solves this by letting apps negotiate liquidity terms directly with providers. For developers, this removes one more barrier to building successful applications.
3. XION Integration
   In a bid to broaden reach, XION’s integration allows users to interact seamlessly with RWAs, regardless of where the assets reside. Essentially, it means no "chain anxiety" when exploring RWAs across ecosystems.

What’s Next for Plume?

Looking ahead, Plume plans to expand into tokenized equities and carbon credits while deepening ties with institutions like Brevan Howard Digital and Nomura’s Laser Digital. With a network processing over 1,200 daily RWA-related transactions, it's outpacing many legacy blockchain projects struggling to find relevance (shots fired!).

Plume’s short-term roadmap includes:

• SkyLink Expansion Across Multiple Blockchains

Plume is set to deploy SkyLink across 16 blockchain networks, including Solana, Movement, and Injective. This expansion aims to enhance cross-chain RWA yields, providing users with diversified opportunities across various platforms.

• Strategic Partnerships

In December 2024, Plume announced a partnership with Busha, Nigeria's first SEC-licensed digital asset exchange. This collaboration seeks to bring on-chain yields to Nigerian users, expanding Plume's reach into emerging markets.

• Ecosystem Growth

Expanding to underserved RWA categories like infrastructure bonds and agricultural credits.Also, rolling out institution-specific gateways for neobanks and asset managers to access on-chain RWAs seamlessly.

Conclusion

While some skeptics might think Plume is just hyping up an idea—in reality, it’s reshaping what’s possible in blockchain-powered finance. With dApps like Nest giving the average investor access to stellar yields and Cultured breaking liquidity bottlenecks, the network has evolved from niche innovation to mainstream contender.

As RWAfi keeps gaining traction, Plume’s progress will be a benchmark for the entire sector. The age of tokenized assets is officially here, and Plume is already ahead of the pack.

Disclaimer: Beluga holds exposure to the $PLUME token in its public trading wallet.