Real Finance's Brandon Kazakoff: Why RWAs Need Their Own Layer 1

Real Finance's Brandon Kazakoff: Why RWAs Need Their Own Layer 1

Author: Bitcoin.com April 22, 2026 Duration: 12:17

Most RWA projects bolt onto Ethereum or Solana.

Real Finance didn't — they built their own chain. VP of Ecosystem Growth Brandon Kazakoff joins Alex Richardson at Paris Blockchain Week 2026 to explain why, in his view, real-world assets aren't just another token category. Issuance, risk classification, insurance logic, and governance all need to live at the protocol layer, not on top of it.


We cover:

- Why Real Finance built its own Layer 1 instead of deploying on Ethereum or Solana

- What RWA protocols actually need that general-purpose chains can't deliver

- How issuance, risk classification, and insurance logic work on-chain

- Why 2026 is the year RWAs shift from theory to structured financial products

- What institutional interest in RWAs actually looks like right now


Filmed at Paris Blockchain Week 2026.

Host: Alex Richardson


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