By 2027, tokenized Treasuries, credit and index exposure could back more DeFi loans than crypto does. Onchain lending would then run on the same collateral as traditional repo.
Fully programmable and ready for agentic use.
Centrifuge
RWA tokenization infrastructure founded in 2017, with $1.8B+ in total value locked
3.9/ 5
Our score
Good
Lending model
Isolated markets
Chains
EthereumArbitrumBaseOther
Main collateral assets
TreasuriesCorporate bondsCLOsCredit lines
Audited
Yes
What is Centrifuge?
Centrifuge is infrastructure for tokenizing, managing and distributing real-world assets onchain. The platform reports $1.8B+ in total value locked and 1,768 assets tokenized as of October 2026, connecting institutional products with DeFi liquidity across multiple networks.
Company and team
Centrifuge was founded in 2017. Bhaji Illuminati is CEO of Centrifuge Labs. The company has raised $31M in total funding as of August 2026. Its work includes token standards such as ERC-7540 and ERC-7575, along with industry initiatives including the Tokenized Asset Coalition and the Real-World Asset Summit.
How the platform works
Issuers can tokenize funds, credit, treasuries and other institutional assets, then manage origination, reporting and portfolio operations through automated infrastructure. Investors can access tokenized products through their preferred chain or currency. Centrifuge uses a hub-and-spoke design: each pool selects one hub chain as its source of truth, while spoke chains host token instances, vaults and liquidity.
The protocol coordinates accounting, holdings and cross-chain messages from the hub. Its documentation names LayerZero, Wormhole, Chainlink and Axelar as message adapters. The Vaults Stack, launched in September 2026, batches investor requests across spoke chains and settles them against a hub ledger. The platform also offers deRWA distribution and a whitelabel platform with compliance tooling and audited components.
Costs and access
Product costs depend on the issuer, asset and pool. The platform supports multichain distribution, including Ethereum, Base and Arbitrum, while recent integrations provide access to tokenized Treasury and AAA CLO exposure on Stellar. Pool managers can subsidize or reimburse gas costs for users, and the protocol can relay gas tokens to spoke chains. KYC and investor eligibility can differ between tokenized products, as can redemption terms.
Track record and risks
Centrifuge reported 1,768 tokenized assets and $1.8B+ TVL in October 2026. Janus Henderson and Centrifuge, alongside SMT, launched onchain vaults for loyalty-program reserves in September 2026, followed by expanded cross-chain access through LI.FI. In July 2026, Centrifuge released a critical security patch covering cross-chain operations and council governance.
Users face smart-contract and cross-chain messaging risk, as well as oracle risk. Tokenized assets also add issuer, custodian and redemption risk. Pool losses can create bad debt after liquidation failures, while collateral depegs, governance attacks and variable borrowing rates can affect DeFi integrations. Asset eligibility and liquidity may vary by pool.
Founders
Bhaji IlluminatiCEO, Centrifuge Labs
Best for:Institutional RWA issuersDeFi protocols adding RWA collateralInvestors accessing tokenized fundsMultichain asset managers
Pros and cons
Pros
- $1.8B+ TVL and 1,768 tokenized assets reported in October 2026
- Supports institutional assets including funds, credit and treasuries
- Hub-and-spoke design connects pools to multiple spoke chains
- Cross-chain access includes Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum and Stellar
- Gas costs can be subsidized or reimbursed by pool managers
Cons
- Pool terms, eligibility and redemption conditions vary by product
- Tokenized assets add issuer, custodian and legal-enforcement exposure
- Cross-chain messaging creates additional smart-contract and bridge risk
- A critical security patch covered cross-chain and council governance in July 2026
- Variable rates, collateral depegs and liquidation failures can affect DeFi integrations
Our review
3.9/5
Good
Centrifuge provides deep institutional real-world asset collateral across multiple chains, but its regulated framework and offchain asset links introduce compliance barriers and real-world default risks.
Centrifuge is credit infrastructure connecting real-world assets with decentralized finance. Founded in 2017 and led by Centrifuge Labs CEO Bhaji Illuminati, the protocol tokenizes debt instruments including short-dated US Treasuries, corporate credit, structured credit, and AAA CLOs. By October 2026, the protocol secured over $1.8B in total value locked across 1,768 tokenized assets, deploying collateral into money markets like Aave, Sky, and Morpho.
The protocol operates on a hub-and-spoke multi-chain architecture. Instead of deploying fragmented pools across different networks, a single hub chain holds the authoritative accounting ledger while spoke chains handle token distribution and local balance sheets. Investor actions across networks settle collectively through the Vaults Stack architecture. Multi-provider cross-chain messaging coordinates data through LayerZero, Wormhole, Chainlink, and Axelar, reducing reliance on a single bridge and batching transactions to lower gas costs.
The platform's strengths include institutional integration and cross-chain reach:
- Connectivity with traditional managers such as Janus Henderson and New York Life Investment Management.
- Liquid wrappers through the deRWA framework that allow tokenized assets to function as collateral across DeFi on chains like Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, and Stellar.
- Reduced multi-chain overhead via the automated Hub-and-Spoke ledger and automated gas subsidy mechanisms.
Trade-offs remain significant. Unlike permissionless crypto-native lending pools, Centrifuge assets often require compliance checks or whitelisting, which restricts direct participation for retail traders. Underlying returns depend on offchain borrower performance and legal frameworks rather than purely programmatic liquidations. Operational risks also exist; Centrifuge issued a critical security patch in July 2026 to resolve vulnerabilities in cross-chain operations and council governance.
Centrifuge suits institutional allocators, treasury managers and DeFi protocols seeking yield backed by real-world debt.
Specs
| KYC required ⓘ | Yes · unverified |
|---|---|
| Lending model | Isolated markets · unverified |
| Chains | Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Other · unverified |
| Main collateral assets | Treasuries, Corporate bonds, CLOs, Credit lines · unverified |
| Permissionless markets | No · unverified |
| Audited | Yes · unverified |
| Isolated markets | Yes · unverified |
| Real-world-asset collateral | Yes · unverified |
| Own stablecoin | No · unverified |
Not disclosed by the provider: Flash loans, Bug bounty, Governance token, Rates.
Data from the provider's website and public sources. Fees and availability change; confirm on the official site before you sign up.
Key features
RWA tokenization
Issuers can bring funds, credit, treasuries and other institutional assets onchain, with automated origination and lifecycle management.
Hub-and-spoke architecture
Each pool uses one hub chain as its source of truth while issuing tokens and vaults across spoke chains such as Ethereum, Base and Arbitrum.
Cross-chain messaging
The protocol names LayerZero, Wormhole, Chainlink and Axelar as message adapters for coordinating pool activity across networks.
Vaults Stack
Launched in September 2026, Vaults Stack batches investor requests across spoke chains before settling them against a hub ledger.
Onchain reporting
Asset managers can provide verifiable data on asset performance and holdings alongside issuance, accounting and settlement.
DeFi distribution
The deRWA framework distributes institutional tokenized assets into freely transferable formats for DeFi integrations.
Gas subsidies
Pool managers can subsidize or reimburse spoke-chain gas, while the protocol can relay gas tokens to fund transactions.
Whitelabel deployment
Teams can launch regulated tokenized products using audited components and compliance tooling under their own brand.
Inside Centrifuge
Centrifuge Tokenization Platform
Open infrastructure for issuers to tokenize assets like credit, treasuries, and funds with automated origination and verifiable onchain reporting.
Vaults Stack
A multi-chain batching and execution architecture that groups investor actions across spoke chains to settle collectively against a hub ledger.
deRWA
A distribution framework that packages institutional-grade tokenized assets into transferable formats for use across DeFi protocols.
Whitelabel Platform
Audited components and compliance tooling that enable teams to launch regulated tokenized asset products under their own brand.
What users say about Centrifuge
There is insufficient user feedback to determine general sentiment or specific themes for the platform. Available mentions are limited to promotional reports without detailed user experience.
Based on 1 Reddit posts and comments from the last 12 months, checked Oct 20, 2026. These are posts by users on other sites, not reviews submitted on CryptoReview.
User reviews
No user reviews yet. Have you used Centrifuge? Share your experience below.
Funding and investors
$31MTotal raised
1Round
3Investors
-
Funding round Amount undisclosedSource
FAQ
Who runs Centrifuge?
Centrifuge was founded in 2017, and Centrifuge Labs is led by CEO Bhaji Illuminati.
What is Centrifuge's total value locked?
Centrifuge holds over $1.8B in total value locked across more than 1,760 tokenized assets as of October 2026.
Does Centrifuge have a native token?
Yes, Centrifuge uses the CFG token for governance, with governance proposal CP172 outlining a 1:1 conversion path into tokenized equity.
Which networks does Centrifuge support?
Centrifuge uses a hub-and-spoke model to connect networks including Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, and Stellar via cross-chain messaging protocols.
What kind of assets can be used as collateral through Centrifuge?
Collateral includes real-world assets such as US Treasury bills, high-yield corporate bonds, AAA-rated collateralized loan obligations, and structured credit.
Has Centrifuge experienced security incidents?
In July 2026, Centrifuge released a critical security patch addressing vulnerabilities in cross-chain operations and council governance.
Latest from Centrifuge on X
Tokenization continues to see gradual growth, even amid changing market conditions. Week after week, the market shows signs of sustained expansion and increasing adoption. https://t.co/Q1NGT1B7fg
$3 billion in tokenized fund value added on @StellarOrg over the past year, the second-largest increase of any blockchain, per @tokenterminal.
Centrifuge funds on Stellar now span Treasuries, AAA CLOs, high-yield bonds and, as of this week, the Nasdaq-100 through $JQQQ.
Centrifuge funds on Stellar now span Treasuries, AAA CLOs, high-yield bonds and, as of this week, the Nasdaq-100 through $JQQQ.
Existing funds can expand their reach through onchain share classes.
Centrifuge's Digital Transfer Agency provides the infrastructure to maintain ownership records, support investor servicing, and facilitate onchain distribution, all in one system.
https://t.co/RYJFQ8PfFD
Centrifuge's Digital Transfer Agency provides the infrastructure to maintain ownership records, support investor servicing, and facilitate onchain distribution, all in one system.
https://t.co/RYJFQ8PfFD
Asset managers and index providers want to take part in tokenization directly. Issuer-sponsored products let them do that.
That’s the model behind $JQQQ: @JHIAdvisors manages the fund and the token is the fund share itself.
Centrifuge CLO @JusNode discussed it with @CamiRusso:
That’s the model behind $JQQQ: @JHIAdvisors manages the fund and the token is the fund share itself.
Centrifuge CLO @JusNode discussed it with @CamiRusso:
Recent public posts from @centrifuge, shown as published. Not reviewed or endorsed by CryptoReview.
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