Brandon Kazakoff is VP of Ecosystem Growth at Real Finance, an institutional-grade Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for RWAs. With nearly a decade in Web3, he has worked across infrastructure, tokenisation, and ecosystem development as blockchain networks have evolved towards real-world economic use cases.
Prior to Real, Brandon co-founded CardStarter, where he helped launch more than 20 blockchain projects, supporting an ecosystem that reached over $200M in circulating market capitalisation at its peak.
At Real Finance, he leads ecosystem growth initiatives spanning partnerships, issuer and platform onboarding, and go-to-market strategy, with a focus on how RWAs are structured, distributed, and scaled onchain.
We caught up with Brandon Kazakoff, VP of Ecosystem Growth at Real Finance, at Consensus in Hong Kong last week to discuss why general-purpose blockchains fall short for institutional assets and how Real Finance is building a purpose-specific Layer 1 to bridge the gap.
Read more about Real Finance’s vision for a hybrid financial architecture in the interview below.
You’ve helped launch 20+ projects via CardStarter. How different is ecosystem building when your audience is banks and tokenisation firms rather than crypto-native startups?
The premise behind my involvement in Web3 hasn’t changed. The root of it is democratising access to financial opportunities. Even during the launchpad phase, the goal was to give people access to early-stage opportunities before they went public.
With RWAs and tokenisation, end users gain access to financial opportunities they might not have had before. These include private equity, fractionalised real estate, or jurisdictionally compliant ownership of a securitised token offering.
The premise is simple: only the delivery vehicle is significantly different at this point.
What are your thoughts on the current state of RWAs, what improvements are needed, and where does Real Finance fit in its next phase?
RWAs are among the best use cases for blockchain technology. We are at the beginning of the exponential curve. Right now, there are tens of billions of dollars in tokenised assets. By the mid-2030s, that will transition to tens of trillions.
Regulatory clarity needs to evolve in certain jurisdictions. Dubai has clear paths forward for tokenisation, whereas the United States does not yet have that. Beyond that, the infrastructure needs to mature.
Real Finance is building backend rails in a permissionless way with a unique architecture. We have technical validators keeping the network secure, and we also have risk-scoring agencies, insurance companies, and tokenisation firms acting as validators.
All of that information is directly embedded in the token metadata. That closes the trust gap in terms of asset authentication. It is not just one blockchain and an asset owner; it is many parties working together for an end-to-end tokenisation solution.
Many blockchains say they “support RWAs.” Why does the market need a purpose-built Layer 1 rather than adapting general-purpose chains?
Going niche closes the functionality gap. Being an end-to-end tokenisation solution isn’t just about the chain itself. It is about all the counterparties that interact with and integrate into the chain.
It is much easier for them to do so if the infrastructure is purpose-built. Beyond that, the dual validator functionality is something a standard general-purpose chain simply does not have built in.
If you had to explain Real’s differentiation to an institutional asset manager, what would you say?
We are looking to transition to Banking 2.0. We provide infrastructure for tokenisation because, while some aspects work well in traditional finance, there are significant inefficiencies. Traditional markets aren’t open 24/7, and there are often jurisdictional limitations.
We take the aspects of TradFi that work, such as business cases and revenue paths, and translate them into onchain solutions. The efficiency gains from tokenising an asset are the key differentiator.
This includes broader access to the asset for various end users, 24/7 trading, and liquid, immediate settlement with banking partners. These are significant advantages over legacy systems.
How does REAL balance permissionless infrastructure with the reality that institutions operate in regulated environments?
This is handled on a case-by-case basis with our partner projects, such as Brickken and Stobox, which handle front-end tokenisation. They understand jurisdictional compliance and have established standards for smart contract deployment to ensure institutions maintain regulatory compliance.
In addition, we are implementing zero-knowledge proof solutions for specific regulatory and jurisdictional scenarios. This ensures that financial institutions can deploy them exactly as required by compliance standards.
One of the more novel aspects of Real is the onchain risk classification system. Why make risk metadata native to the token itself?
Traditional investment vehicles such as mutual funds have risk-scoring standards. We are maturing the tokenisation space by implementing these standards and bringing them onchain.
Although we are a Layer 1 blockchain, Real Finance functions effectively as a fintech company. We support financial institutions, organisations, and individuals in managing their information and their money.
Most stablecoin liquidity today is USD-based. Why focus on a euro-native settlement layer with REUR?
We are well positioned for a unique use case. Rather than looking at US-based stablecoins backed by T-bills, this is a different class of asset. As a European organisation, it makes sense to roll out a European-based stablecoin and have representation in that market.
The key differentiator is that actual assets under custody with banks or our custodians back this Euro stablecoin. As far as the Euro is concerned, European regulatory clarity is already ahead of that in North America.
We see a lot of opportunity in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Demand is rising, and people are moving money out of US dollars. There is a business case for all currencies.
Do you think tokenised finance ultimately lives on crypto rails, traditional rails, or a hybrid architecture?
It will be a hybrid model. We are closing that gap. As a fintech company, we provide the infrastructure and technology that enable TradFi institutions to operate much more efficiently, using technology that is actually up to date.
What’s next for Real? What does success look like?
With our founders having extensive experience in traditional finance, our internal structure is designed to serve financial institutions. Throughout 2026, we are poised to reach testnet in Q2, with mainnet following shortly after.
Financial institutions are the low-hanging fruit. Regulated banks have partnered with us and committed to bringing parts of their portfolios onchain as soon as our testnet launches.
Beyond that, being a full-fledged Layer 1 blockchain catering to RWAs enables many other use cases. While everyone talks about fractionalised real estate, there are business cases such as insurance settlement, private debt, and accounts receivable.
These areas have significant use cases for tokenisation from an efficiency and cash flow standpoint. These are the areas we will grow into and support beyond just financial institutions.