Real and iExec partner to solve privacy challenges in institutional RWA markets

Institutional interest in tokenized real-world assets continues to grow, but one issue continues to slow broader adoption: privacy.

Banks, asset managers, and regulated financial firms want the efficiency of blockchain-based settlement and tokenized finance. What they do not want is sensitive investor data, transaction flows, or fund activity exposed on public infrastructure. That tension sits at the center of a new partnership between Real and iExec.

Real, a Layer 1 blockchain focused on institutional-scale real-world asset tokenization, has signed a memorandum of understanding with confidential computing provider iExec to explore infrastructure that could keep tokenized financial operations private without sacrificing compliance or auditability.

The two companies plan to evaluate how confidential computing can support institutional workflows tied to tokenized assets, including issuance, subscriptions, redemptions, dividend distributions, lending, and structured credit.

The partnership comes as tokenized real-world assets, often referred to as RWAs, continue gaining traction across the financial industry. Large institutions have shown growing interest in moving traditional assets such as private credit, bonds, and funds onto blockchain networks to reduce settlement friction and improve operational efficiency. The challenge is that most institutions still operate in environments where confidentiality is a requirement, not an option.

That is where iExec hopes its infrastructure can help.

Inside the Growing Race to Secure Tokenized Financial Markets Through Confidential Computing

The company provides confidential computing technology through Trusted Execution Environments, including Intel TDX, along with its Nox Protocol, which supports encrypted data processing, confidential smart contract execution, selective disclosure, and verifiable computation.

Real and iExec plan to assess how Nox Protocol could integrate with Real’s Layer 1 blockchain to support encrypted transaction flows, confidential tokenized assets, and private financial operations tied to institutional markets.

“Institutions need more than tokenization. They need infrastructure that protects sensitive financial data while still allowing compliance, oversight, and auditability,” said Ivo Grigorov, CEO, Real. “Our Partnership with iExec is an important step toward exploring how confidential computing can support the next generation of real-world asset markets.”

“Confidentiality is a key requirement for institutional blockchain adoption,” said iExec executive. “By exploring collaboration with Real, we aim to evaluate how confidential computing and Nox Protocol can help bring privacy-preserving execution to real-world asset issuance and financial operations.”

The companies said the collaboration will examine selective disclosure systems that could provide regulators and auditors with controlled access to transaction data without publicly exposing sensitive financial information. They will also study compatibility with custody platforms, settlement systems, and secondary-market infrastructure commonly used by institutional investors.

For blockchain developers, privacy has become one of the industry’s biggest unresolved issues. Public chains were built around transparency, yet institutional finance depends heavily on confidentiality. That mismatch has pushed many projects to explore encrypted computation, zero-knowledge systems, and confidential execution environments as a bridge between blockchain infrastructure and regulated finance.

Real’s focus is broader than settlement alone. The company says its Layer 1 blockchain supports onboarding, verification, governance, risk assessment, settlement, asset management, and interoperability tied to tokenized assets.

The agreement between the two companies stops short of a commercial deployment. The next phase will focus on technical discussions, pilot opportunities, and architecture alignment tied to institutional use cases such as tokenized funds and private credit markets.