Lately, the excitement around RWA being on the chain is a lot like back in the day when everyone was chasing testnet points: everyone’s focused on whether the mainnet will issue tokens, but no one is paying attention to the redemption terms. Honestly, a lot of so-called liquidity is just that curve on the interface; when it comes to actually redeeming, there might be T+N delays, lock-up periods, quota limits, or even “pause in extreme cases.” After seeing a series of these, you realize what a liquidity illusion really is.

Having studied MEV for a long time, I’m especially sensitive to the question of “can I exit immediately.” On-chain transactions don’t mean assets can be liquidated instantly; don’t be fooled by the words “tradeable.” Anyway, now I always ask about projects: who provides the market for redemptions, what’s the order in a run on the fund, whether the conditions for pausing redemptions are clearly written… If they’re not written? Then I treat it as non-redemptable, and it makes me feel much more comfortable.