Global tokenized assets have surpassed $35 billion, and the onchain private credit market has grown to $6.9 billion. Yet for all the momentum, the RWA space has remained something of a paradox: unregulated products lack security and legal recourse, while fully compliant ones struggle to integrate with DeFi.
That gap is exactly what Pruv Finance and Kaia set out to address when they launched Yield8 — the first institutional-grade onchain private credit product jointly brought to market by the two partners.
In a recent conversation, Chung Ying Lai, CEO of Pruv Finance, and Paulo, Head of Partnerships at Kaia, sat down to unpack the evolution of Asia's RWA landscape, the strategic logic behind private credit, and what the future holds for tokenization.
The Compliance-Composability Convergence
For Chung Ying Lai, the RWA space is approaching a critical inflection point. "If you remain fully regulated, you lack DeFi composability," he observed. "If you use an offshore jurisdiction to tokenize, you lack regulatory protection. But eventually, these two will merge."
He believes the next five years will see permissionless RWAs become mainstream, with regulators gradually coming to understand the benefits of bringing real-world assets onchain in a way that retains legal recourse. The players that can offer end-to-end legal protection and security will become the most trusted entities in the ecosystem, and that is where the majority of users will ultimately flock.
This vision is grounded in a broader thesis about the trajectory of digital finance. Chung Ying Lai draws a direct line between the rise of stablecoins and the growth of RWAs. "Stablecoins are the next phase of money," he said. "As more everyday users and institutional players enter the space, they will want proper legal recourse — even when using DeFi to purchase RWAs." The implication is clear: the next wave of adoption will not come from crypto-native users alone, but from traditional capital seeking the efficiency of blockchain without sacrificing the protections of regulated finance.
A Ground-Level Approach to Yield
Paulo offered a complementary perspective from Kaia's side of the partnership. Kaia takes a ground-level approach to sourcing private credit opportunities across Asia — from Korea to Indonesia, and soon Japan. "That's where we find juicy yields," he said.
The strategy is straightforward: go to where traditional financing is scarce, partner with businesses that need liquidity, and structure deals with collateral and clear exit mechanisms. It is a model that requires on-the-ground presence and deep local relationships — exactly the kind of capabilities that a blockchain ecosystem backed by Kakao and LINE can offer.
When paired with Pruv's infrastructure — which is legally defensible, compliant, and equipped with robust KYC and onboarding mechanics — the result is a combination that Paulo describes as "a great mix and a strong partnership."
Why Private Credit?
The decision to launch Yield8 as a private credit product was not arbitrary. Paulo explained that the choice was rooted in years of experimentation across DeFi. "We've already tried DeFi over the years and evolved from that to become more reliable," he said. "Yield8 allocates cash or stablecoins to off-chain or on-chain companies, focusing mostly on private credit opportunities."
The market fit is compelling. Stablecoins are the most transacted asset in crypto, and when you pair that liquidity with merchants and businesses that lack access to traditional financing, you create a natural bridge between onchain capital and off-chain economic activity. The result is a product that targets 8%+ annualized returns through a diversified portfolio spanning shipping finance, energy finance, and SME financing — sectors that have historically been difficult for individual investors to access.
For Chung Ying Lai, the choice of private credit also reflects a deliberate progression. "When crypto first started, we had Bitcoin, then Ethereum. To me, money market funds are like Bitcoin, and private credit funds are like Ethereum." The natural next step, he suggests, is diversification into more niche asset classes — commodity funds, real estate-based assets like mortgage loans, and beyond.
Building Trust Through Structure
Trust remains one of the biggest barriers to mainstream RWA adoption. How do you ensure that tokenized assets remain secure, transparent, and compliant when the underlying assets exist offchain?
Chung Ying Lai explained how Pruv modeled its infrastructure on traditional finance frameworks. The token issuance process mirrors traditional asset management: a third-party portfolio manager mitigates potential fraud, while Pruv itself acts as an underwriter, reviewing product structure, underlying assets, and yield distribution before approving any token for issuance.
"All of these details are thoroughly reviewed with the issuer," he emphasized. "This completely covers the risk, security, and transparency layers for the underlying asset."
On the compliance side, Pruv enforces strict AML policies through KYC and KYB verification for primary purchasers, who represent the largest AML risk. Even on secondary transfers, the platform continuously monitors transactions to track where tokens flow — similar to how stablecoins maintain compliance post-issuance. Smart contract functions provide an additional layer of enforcement when needed.
Paulo added Kaia's layer of risk management. The platform only sources from yield originators that provide collateral, and all loans are structured so that Kaia can exit immediately if necessary. "We work with licensed partners like Pruv to ensure everything is legally defensible, retrievable, and recoverable," he said. Investors have access to a real-time dashboard covering asset origination, distribution channels, and risk management protocols — ensuring full visibility into how their capital is performing.
Breaking Geographic Barriers
Perhaps the most significant theme to emerge from the conversation was the geographic expansion that tokenization enables.
Chung Ying Lai highlighted a distinction that is easy to overlook — with Asia-based funds largely inaccessible to global investors. "Through tokenization, we're opening up access to these products to onchain investors worldwide," he said.
Paulo added: "It is truly monumental to have this kind of access right now. Previously, if you weren't based in Asia or didn't have the right connections, these opportunities were simply out of reach. Tokenization changes that entirely — it breaks down geographic barriers and makes these products available to anyone with an onchain wallet."
What's Next
Looking ahead, both guests shared their visions for the coming months.
For Pruv, the priority is diversification. "We have proven that our model of tokenization works," Chung Ying Lai said. "Now let's scale this by deepening our collaboration with Kaia and partnering with different asset managers and providers to offer a much wider variety of assets to our end users."
For Kaia, the next frontier is composability. "What's next is not just more assets or more capital — it's actually composability," Paulo revealed. "These tokens could eventually be used in DeFi as collateral. Imagine the potential of those kinds of stablecoin interactions with Yield8. We can unlock so much more value and benefit many more users."
Key milestones on the horizon include a real-time NAV dashboard launching in the first half of 2026 and an expansion of asset classes from three to over ten.
A Word for New Investors
For those curious about making their first RWA investment, both guests offered practical advice.
Paulo's guidance was straightforward: start with a platform you trust, know the risks you are taking, act on the research you have done, and ensure all necessary licenses are in place.
Chung Ying Lai added an important reminder about liquidity management. "Understanding the product nature and liquidity needs is equally important," he said. "It's not just about the yield — it's also about your own liquidity management."
Final Thoughts
As the conversation drew to a close, one message resonated above all: the RWA space is no longer a theoretical exercise. It is happening now, in real markets, with real assets and real returns.
The partnership between Pruv Finance and Kaia represents a blueprint for what comes next — a model where regulatory rigor meets DeFi innovation, where institutional-grade products are no longer locked behind walls of exclusivity, and where the mass market finally gains access to yields that were once reserved for the few.
For Asia, this is a defining moment. The region is not merely catching up to the RWA trend — it is helping shape its trajectory. With deep local expertise, a supportive regulatory environment in key markets, and infrastructure that bridges the gap between traditional finance and Web3, Asia is positioning itself at the forefront of a financial transformation that promises to bring the best of both worlds to anyone with an internet connection and a wallet.