NEW YORK, March 15, 2026 — Major financial institutions are constructing a bifurcated future for blockchain adoption, architecting separate systems for internal privacy and public market liquidity. According to exclusive insights from Marcin Kaźmierczak, co-founder of oracle provider RedStone, banks are not choosing between permissioned and public blockchains for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization—they are actively deploying both. This strategic divergence, now accelerating in 2026, sees entities like the Canton Network handling confidential interbank settlements while Ethereum serves as the primary distribution layer for tokenized securities, creating parallel blockchain rails within the same institutions.
The Dual-Rail Strategy: Privacy vs. Liquidity
Kaźmierczak’s analysis, shared in a detailed interview, exposes a fundamental architectural split driven by institutional needs. “Product development and market-facing liquidity naturally gravitate to public chains like Ethereum,” he explained. “Conversely, permissioned systems are engineered for institutional processes demanding absolute confidentiality.” This division is not theoretical. The Canton Network, a consortium blockchain led by Digital Asset with members including Goldman Sachs and Microsoft, reported processing a staggering $6 trillion in RWA value in 2025. Meanwhile, analytics platform RWA.xyz tracks over $26.4 billion in tokenized RWAs using blockchains for distribution, with Ethereum hosting over $15 billion of that total.
The operational logic is clear. Public chains offer unparalleled composability and access to decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems for yield. Permissioned networks like Canton replicate the privacy and control of traditional financial infrastructure, keeping bilateral transactions and internal workflows off visible ledgers. “Some operations between institutions simply must stay private,” Kaźmierczak emphasized, highlighting Canton’s core value proposition. This approach allows banks to automate back-office processes using blockchain efficiency without exposing sensitive data.
Ethereum’s Credibility and the Regulatory Catalyst
Institutional confidence in public blockchain foundations, particularly Ethereum, solidified after key technological and regulatory milestones. Kaźmierczak pinpointed The Merge—Ethereum’s 2022 transition to proof-of-stake—as a critical turning point. “It was a big question mark for institutions,” he recalled. “They saw it work without hiccups, and that built confidence.” This technical proof was later bolstered by legislative action. The passage of the GENIUS Act in 2025 established a federal framework for stablecoins, providing the regulatory clarity needed for these assets to serve as a reliable settlement layer for tokenized RWAs.
- Technical Proof: Ethereum’s successful Merge demonstrated network stability.
- Regulatory Catalyst: The 2025 GENIUS Act created a clear stablecoin framework.
- Market Momentum: A cluster of institutional tokenization projects launched in late 2025, reflecting year-long development cycles.
Institutional Architects Weigh In
The dual-rail model is endorsed by the consortium behind Canton. A spokesperson for Digital Asset stated the network is designed specifically for “synchronized financial markets” where privacy between parties is paramount. This philosophy contrasts with approaches using cryptographic privacy on public chains. For instance, Matter Labs CEO Alex Gluchowski has advocated for zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs as a method to achieve verifiable privacy on open networks. However, Digital Asset’s Yuval Rooz has expressed concerns that fully opaque ZK systems could create auditability black boxes, reminiscent of pre-blockchain financial scandals. This debate underscores the broader architectural experimentation occurring as financial firms balance transparency, privacy, and control.
Parallel Infrastructure: A New Financial Stack
The emerging model suggests a future where the tokenized financial stack operates on two parallel layers. The public layer, dominated by Ethereum, handles investor-facing activity: issuing tokens, facilitating secondary market trading, and enabling DeFi integrations for collateralized lending or yield strategies. The permissioned layer, exemplified by Canton, manages the foundational record-keeping, settlement between known entities, and internal asset rebalancing. RWA.xyz data reflects this, distinguishing between RWAs using a blockchain for “distribution” (public) and those using it for “recordkeeping” (often permissioned), with Canton representing over $313 billion in the latter category.
| Blockchain Layer | Primary Function | Key Network Example | Institutional Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public/Permissionless | Market Distribution, DeFi Liquidity | Ethereum | Access, Composability, Yield |
| Private/Permissioned | Internal Settlement, Bilateral Transactions | Canton Network | Privacy, Control, Regulatory Compliance |
The Road Ahead: Convergence or Continued Coexistence?
Looking forward, the industry faces a pivotal question: will these parallel rails eventually converge, or will their coexistence become permanent? Kaźmierczak believes the latter is more likely, at least for the foreseeable future. “We want to be on both of those legs,” he stated, indicating that service providers like RedStone will build bridges rather than pick winners. The trajectory suggests increased specialization, with innovation in cross-chain communication protocols becoming critical to seamlessly move assets and data between the private and public spheres. The recent integration of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) US Treasury Collateral Network with Canton in a 2024 pilot is a prime example of this hybrid future taking shape.
Market Reactions and Strategic Implications
The market has responded to this bifurcation. Canton’s native token experienced significant appreciation following its late-2025 mainnet launch, entering the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. This signals investor recognition of the value in institutional-grade, private blockchain infrastructure. For traditional asset managers, the dual-rail strategy mitigates risk. It allows them to explore the efficiency gains of tokenization on private networks they control while cautiously tapping into the vast liquidity pools developing on public chains, all within existing regulatory and compliance guardrails.
Conclusion
The narrative that financial institutions would adopt a single, monolithic blockchain solution has been decisively overturned. Instead, a pragmatic, dual-track approach has emerged, splitting RWA tokenization workflows across permissioned networks for privacy and public chains for liquidity. Driven by the distinct value propositions of systems like Canton and Ethereum, this architecture reflects the complex realities of institutional finance. As tokenization scales from billions to trillions, the interoperability between these parallel blockchain rails will become the next critical frontier, defining how seamlessly the future of digital assets operates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What are the two blockchain rails banks are using for RWAs?
Banks are deploying a dual-rail system: private, permissioned networks like the Canton Network for confidential internal settlements and bilateral transactions, and public, permissionless blockchains like Ethereum for issuing tokens and accessing decentralized finance (DeFi) liquidity and markets.
Q2: Why are banks using private blockchains like Canton instead of just Ethereum?
Certain financial operations, such as interbank settlements, internal rebalancing, and transactions between known counterparties, require privacy and control that public ledgers cannot provide. Permissioned networks replicate the confidentiality of traditional finance while leveraging blockchain’s efficiency for automation and synchronization.
Q3: How much value is currently being processed on these institutional blockchain networks?
According to its own reporting, the Canton Network processed $6 trillion in RWA value in 2025. Separately, analytics firm RWA.xyz tracks over $26.4 billion in tokenized RWAs using blockchains for distribution, with over $15 billion of that residing on Ethereum.
Q4: What role did regulation play in accelerating institutional tokenization?
The passage of the GENIUS Act in 2025 created a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States. Since stablecoins are a primary settlement mechanism for tokenized assets, this clarity reduced legal uncertainty and encouraged institutional participation.
Q5: Will banks eventually move everything to public blockchains?
Industry experts like RedStone’s Marcin Kaźmierczak believe the dual-rail model will persist. The need for private, auditable workflows between institutions is fundamental and unlikely to be fully replaced by public, transparent ledgers. The future likely involves greater interoperability between the two layers.
Q6: How does this trend affect everyday investors or the crypto market?
It signals massive, long-term institutional commitment to blockchain infrastructure. As more real-world assets like bonds and funds become tokenized, it brings significant capital and legitimacy to the ecosystem. It also may create new investment products accessible via public chains that were previously limited to large institutions.
