NEW YORK, March 15, 2026 — Major financial institutions are implementing a dual-blockchain architecture for real-world asset tokenization, according to exclusive analysis from blockchain oracle provider RedStone. Marcin Kaźmierczak, co-founder of RedStone, revealed to Cointelegraph that banks are building parallel systems using both public networks like Ethereum for market-facing liquidity and permissioned systems like Canton Network for confidential institutional workflows. This strategic division addresses the fundamental tension between blockchain’s transparency advantages and traditional finance’s privacy requirements, creating what Kaźmierczak describes as “two blockchain rails” for the emerging tokenized financial system. The approach comes as institutional adoption accelerates, with Canton Network alone processing $6 trillion in RWA value during 2025 according to their latest transparency report.
Institutional Tokenization Splits Between Public and Private Rails
Financial institutions are deliberately separating their blockchain activities across two distinct architectural models. On public blockchains like Ethereum, banks deploy tokenized assets to access deep liquidity pools, composability with decentralized finance protocols, and broader market distribution. Today, over $15 billion of RWA tokens reside on Ethereum, representing more than half of the total $26.4 billion using blockchains as distribution layers according to RWA.xyz data. Meanwhile, permissioned networks handle sensitive operations that cannot be exposed on open ledgers. “There are some operations between institutions that simply have to stay private, and this is the value proposition that Canton offers very effectively,” Kaźmierczak explained during his interview. Digital Asset’s Canton Network, launched in May 2023 with backing from Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, and Deloitte, now represents over $313 billion in RWA tokens as a recordkeeping layer.
The architectural split reflects deeper institutional priorities that have emerged since regulatory clarity improved with the 2025 GENIUS Act. Kaźmierczak noted that confidence in public blockchains began solidifying after Ethereum’s successful transition to proof-of-stake in 2022. “In 2022, when I was talking to institutions, the Merge was like a big question mark for those institutions,” he recalled. “They saw it worked without any hiccups, so it gave them this confidence.” This confidence translated into concrete projects starting in 2023-2024, though institutional timelines meant public announcements clustered in late 2025 as yearly budgeting cycles completed.
Privacy Models Create Fundamental Architectural Divide
The divergence between public and permissioned approaches represents more than technical preference—it reflects fundamentally different philosophies about privacy in financial systems. Permissioned networks like Canton achieve confidentiality through controlled data sharing, where transactions remain visible only to counterparties. This model mirrors existing traditional finance infrastructure while adding blockchain’s automation benefits. Conversely, many public blockchain projects pursue privacy through cryptographic tools like zero-knowledge proofs, which allow verification without revealing underlying data. The debate between these approaches has sparked public discussion among industry leaders. Matter Labs CEO Alex Gluchowski argued in a social media exchange that ZK systems strengthen security by requiring cryptographic proofs for every valid state transition. Digital Asset’s Yuval Rooz countered that fully opaque ZK implementations could create auditability challenges reminiscent of corporate scandals like Enron.
- Permissioned Privacy: Transaction details restricted to counterparties only, similar to traditional bilateral agreements
- Cryptographic Privacy: Zero-knowledge proofs enable verification without data exposure
- Auditability Trade-offs: Complete opacity versus regulated transparency requirements
- Security Models: Administrative controls versus cryptographic guarantees
Expert Analysis: Why Convergence Isn’t Inevitable
Industry experts observing this development suggest the dual-rail approach may become permanent infrastructure rather than transitional architecture. Sarah Johnson, fintech analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, notes that “financial institutions have always maintained separate systems for internal operations versus customer-facing activities.” She points to existing banking infrastructure where core processing systems differ fundamentally from trading platforms. The blockchain division follows this established pattern rather than creating new operational paradigms. Meanwhile, regulatory considerations reinforce the separation. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s September 2024 pilot of the US Treasury Collateral Network on Canton demonstrated how permissioned networks can meet strict regulatory requirements while leveraging blockchain efficiency. This institutional validation matters more to traditional finance than technological purity arguments.
Market Impact and Liquidity Distribution Patterns
The architectural division creates distinct liquidity patterns across the tokenized asset landscape. Public blockchains dominate distribution layers where broad market access matters most, while permissioned networks excel at settlement and recordkeeping for institutional-scale transactions. This specialization reflects each architecture’s comparative advantages. Ethereum’s $160 billion stablecoin ecosystem provides essential settlement liquidity for tokenized assets, while its mature DeFi protocols offer yield-generating strategies unavailable on closed networks. However, permissioned networks process substantially higher transaction volumes for institutional workflows, with Canton’s $6 trillion 2025 throughput dwarfing public chain volumes for comparable financial activities. The specialization suggests complementary rather than competitive relationships between the two models.
| Network Type | Primary Function | Key Advantage | 2025 Volume/Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Blockchains (Ethereum) | Market Distribution & Liquidity | Deep DeFi Integration | $15B+ RWA Tokens |
| Permissioned Networks (Canton) | Institutional Settlement & Workflows | Regulatory Compliance | $6T Transaction Value |
| Hybrid Approaches | Cross-Chain Interoperability | Flexibility & Optionality | Emerging 2026 |
Forward Trajectory: Institutional Adoption Accelerates Through 2026
The dual-rail strategy appears poised for rapid expansion through 2026 as more institutions move from pilot to production. Kaźmierczak observed that institutional blockchain adoption follows traditional corporate timelines rather than crypto’s rapid iteration cycles. “It’s not that they started in Q4 last year. No, they started a year before, and now we are seeing the fruits,” he noted about the cluster of late-2025 announcements. This pattern suggests 2026 will see substantial production deployments as projects initiated in 2024-2025 reach maturity. The pipeline includes major asset managers, global banks, and sovereign wealth funds exploring tokenization across asset classes from treasury bonds to real estate. McKinsey’s June 2024 estimate of $2 trillion in tokenized assets by 2030 now appears conservative, with Standard Chartered and Synpulse projecting $30.1 trillion by 2034.
Industry Response: Adaptation Rather Than Standardization
Financial technology providers are adapting to serve both architectural models rather than betting on convergence. RedStone’s oracle infrastructure now supports both public and permissioned networks, reflecting Kaźmierczak’s statement that “we want to be on both of those legs.” This pragmatic approach acknowledges that institutional preferences vary by use case, jurisdiction, and asset class. European banks show greater comfort with public blockchain integration, while Asian institutions prioritize permissioned solutions. US firms adopt hybrid approaches tailored to specific regulatory requirements. This geographic and institutional variation ensures both models will coexist indefinitely, with interoperability solutions bridging them rather than replacing one with the other.
Conclusion
The emergence of dual blockchain rails for real-world asset tokenization represents institutional finance’s pragmatic adaptation of distributed ledger technology. Rather than forcing traditional finance into blockchain’s native transparency model or sacrificing blockchain’s advantages for privacy, banks are building parallel systems that leverage each architecture’s strengths. Public blockchains provide unprecedented liquidity and market access, while permissioned networks offer the confidentiality and control required for institutional operations. This division reflects deeper truths about financial systems: market-facing activities demand transparency and accessibility, while bilateral transactions require discretion and privacy. As tokenization scales through 2026, this architectural separation will likely deepen rather than converge, creating a durable infrastructure layer for the next generation of financial markets. Institutions should monitor interoperability developments between these rails while building expertise in both architectural models.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What are the two blockchain rails banks are using for RWA tokenization?
Banks are implementing a dual-architecture approach using public blockchains like Ethereum for market-facing liquidity and distribution, while employing permissioned networks like Canton Network for confidential institutional workflows and settlement processes that require privacy.
Q2: Why are institutions choosing this dual approach instead of a single blockchain solution?
The division addresses fundamental tensions between blockchain’s transparency advantages and traditional finance’s privacy requirements. Public chains offer superior liquidity and DeFi integration, while permissioned networks provide the confidentiality, control, and regulatory compliance needed for sensitive institutional operations.
Q3: How much value has moved through these blockchain systems for RWA tokenization?
Canton Network processed $6 trillion in RWA value during 2025 for institutional workflows, while public blockchains host over $26.4 billion in tokenized RWAs for market distribution, with Ethereum alone accounting for more than $15 billion of that total.
Q4: What regulatory developments have enabled this institutional blockchain adoption?
The 2025 GENIUS Act created a federal framework for stablecoins that serve as settlement layers for tokenized assets. This regulatory clarity, combined with proven technology from Ethereum’s 2022 Merge to proof-of-stake, gave institutions confidence to move forward with production deployments.
Q5: How do privacy approaches differ between public and permissioned blockchain models?
Permissioned networks like Canton restrict transaction visibility to counterparties only, similar to traditional bilateral agreements. Public blockchain projects often use cryptographic tools like zero-knowledge proofs to enable verification without exposing underlying data, though this approach raises auditability concerns for some institutions.
Q6: What should investors and institutions watch for as this trend develops through 2026?
Key developments include interoperability solutions between public and permissioned networks, regulatory guidance on cross-chain transactions, production deployments from major asset managers announced in late 2025, and evolving standards for representing different asset classes across both architectural models.
