Tokenizing a real-world asset is only half the job. The other half is making it useful once it exists on-chain. XDC Network is now addressing that second problem directly, through the launch of its third accelerator program with Plug and Play.
The new cohort shifts focus from tokenization infrastructure to decentralized finance. After two rounds of onboarding RWA platforms and liquidity tools, the XDC Foundation and Plug and Play are bringing in 11 startups specifically selected to build the DeFi layer that tokenized assets need to reach their full potential.
What XDC Has Built So Far
XDC Network is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 built for trade finance and RWA tokenization, processing 2,000 TPS at sub-$0.0001 fees. By early 2026, the network had crossed $717 million in tokenized real-world assets, surpassed one billion total transactions, and grown stablecoin liquidity to nearly $200 million. It also became the first Layer 1 blockchain to join the International Trade and Forfaiting Association, a signal of where its institutional credibility sits.
The Gap the Third Cohort Fills
RWA tokenization creates digital representations of assets like invoices, bonds, commodities, and private credit. It improves transparency and makes traditionally illiquid assets easier to transfer. However, tokenized assets sitting on-chain without DeFi infrastructure face a hard ceiling. Lending markets are needed before those assets can serve as collateral. Yield infrastructure determines whether they generate returns or sit idle. Cross-chain interoperability decides whether they can move at all.
The first two XDC accelerator cohorts addressed the supply side of this problem. The first cohort brought in platforms building marketplaces for trade finance, institutional capital access, and supply-chain verification. The second cohort focused on liquidity, compliance, and asset distribution. Together, graduates like Raze Finance, Brickken, Blockticity, Nomyx, Toknar, Compute Labs, and 129Knots helped establish a foundation for on-chain capital markets on XDC.
🏦 Institutional RWA Vaults Just Launched On XDC Network
— Generation Infinity (@Genfinity) January 28, 2026
Raze Finance joins XDC Foundation and Plug & Play to showcase infrastructure for the next $1T in RWA yield.
Private credit. Commodities. Structured debt. All accessible with USDC.
Deploy stablecoins. Earn from real world… pic.twitter.com/HMPGYedcoX
Collectively, startups from both cohorts received more than 50 venture capital introductions and connected with over 70 corporate partners through Plug and Play’s network. Several graduates formed partnerships with each other, creating integrations within the XDC ecosystem rather than in isolation.
The third cohort takes the next logical step. It targets the demand side: the protocols that let tokenized assets do more once they exist.
11 Startups, One Goal
The third accelerator selected 11 startups to build across the full DeFi stack. Each team will integrate with XDC Network and work alongside XDC leadership, Plug and Play mentors, and a global investor network. The cohort covers five core areas:
Lending and credit: Term Finance (fixed-rate lending), Teller (zero-collateral credit-based borrowing), Lantern Finance (crypto-backed lending), Bond.Credit (institutional fixed income)
Yield and stablecoins: R2, building yield-bearing stablecoins backed by tokenized U.S. Treasuries and real estate, with vaults targeting 4 to 32 percent yields
Aggregation and liquidity: Superlend, a DeFi lending aggregator spanning 1,000-plus markets across 10-plus chains; Hawkish Capital, bringing RWA tokenization tools for wealth managers and institutional investors
Cross-chain infrastructure: Teleswap, a trustless Bitcoin bridge enabling cross-chain swaps between BTC and EVM tokens; Bulla Network, handling decentralized invoicing and payroll across 12-plus blockchains
Ecosystem builders: Neurowatt and Hashfire, targeting energy and infrastructure use cases within XDC
Together, the group reflects a deliberate effort to build a complete DeFi stack, not a collection of isolated projects.
This third accelerator marks the next phase, bringing DeFi innovation to the forefront so tokenized assets on XDC can access deeper liquidity, stronger composability, and institutional participation at scale.
Billy Sebell, Executive Director at the XDC Foundation
What the Accelerator Offers
The program runs for two months. Each startup gains access to XDC Foundation leadership and the Plug and Play mentor network. Plug and Play operates in more than 60 locations across five continents and has backed companies including PayPal, Dropbox, and Lending Club through its in-house venture arm.
The accelerator culminates at the Plug and Play Silicon Valley May Summit. There, participating startups will present to venture capital firms, Fortune 500 companies, governments, and universities. For early-stage DeFi teams building on a relatively focused blockchain ecosystem, that exposure is meaningful. It positions XDC as a destination network for serious institutional capital.
Maximillian Jungreis, Head of Crypto and Digital Assets at Plug and Play, pointed to the track record. “Across the first two cohorts, we’ve seen projects launch on XDC, secure capital, and establish enterprise partnerships that are already driving real usage,” he said. “By supporting startups focused on compliant liquidity and institutional-grade decentralized finance, we’re strengthening the XDC ecosystem.”
Building Toward Institutional DeFi at Scale
What XDC is assembling is a layered strategy. The base layer is the blockchain itself: fast, cheap, EVM-compatible, and built for enterprise use. The middle layer is tokenized assets, built through two cohorts of accelerator companies. The third layer, now under construction, is the DeFi infrastructure that gives those assets utility.
Institutional DeFi requires more than working protocols. It requires compliance-aware design, deep liquidity, and the kind of multi-protocol composability that lets assets flow between use cases without friction. That is precisely what the third cohort targets. Lending protocols that accept tokenized trade finance receivables as collateral, yield products built on tokenized Treasuries, and cross-chain bridges that connect XDC to Bitcoin and Ethereum represent a different order of complexity than basic tokenization.
The Plug and Play partnership provides the distribution and investor access that most blockchain-native accelerators cannot match. The combination of XDC’s technical infrastructure, an established cohort of RWA graduates, and a new wave of DeFi builders gives this third program a credible path toward what the XDC Foundation has been working toward since it entered the trade finance space.
The May Summit will be an early test of whether that case resonates with institutional capital.
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