R3 Launches Unit to Bridge TradFi, DeFi Gap

R3 has launched R3 Labs, a new division of the firm that it says is dedicated to bringing the next trillion dollars of real-world assets (RWAs) on-chain by accelerating institutions’ adoption of tokenised RWAs on Solana.

The firm says it is beginning with the $17 billion already tokenised across its platforms – something it claims is the world’s largest collection of tokenised RWAs – and plans to expand to a growing pipeline of regulated financial institutions seeking broader distribution, deeper liquidity, and new revenue opportunities.

Richard Brown has been appointed as CEO of R3 Labs, with Digby Try joining as global head of sales. Brown was previously R3’s chief product and technology officer, and led the development of Corda for over a decade, playing an instrumental role in shaping the R3 and Solana integration. Try joins from Coincover, where he was chief revenue officer for just over a year, previously he worked at a number of FX payments firms, including more than seven years as VP of sales EMEA at Currencycloud.  

R3 says its new division envisions a future where all assets move on-chain. By leveraging the speed and scale of Solana, R3 Labs aims to eliminate the friction and complexity of issuing RWAs on public blockchains. Coupling R3’s decade of experience building compliant blockchain solutions with the low-cost, high-throughput, and distribution of the Solana, the firm claims the network will unlock “new opportunities for revenue generation, including providing on-chain investors access to yield and collateral backed by the high-quality real-world assets of the R3 ecosystem”.

In addition, R3 says this will enable regulated institutions to directly confirm transactions on one of the fastest and most resilient public blockchain networks, with sub-second finality and more than 70x greater throughput than Ethereum’s real-world capacity recorded in July 2025.   

R3 Labs says it will introduce products and services to remove institutional barriers to on-chain deployment, adding that regulated firms will gain access to greater liquidity, new efficiencies, and broader market access for tokenised RWAs, thus providing TradFi with a gateway to DeFi without compromising privacy, security, or performance.  

“The launch of R3 Labs is a significant milestone in our mission to reduce friction around tokenisation and help bring the next trillion dollars of institutional assets onto public blockchains,” says David Rutter, founder and CEO of R3. “With $17 billion in RWAs already tokenised across our platforms, we’re building a unique bridge between regulated financial institutions and public blockchain networks.”

Brown adds, “For over a decade, we’ve helped institutions navigate the complexities of going on-chain. R3 Labs is the next step in accelerating that transformation. Permissionless infrastructure delivers liquidity, composability, and unstoppable innovation – and we’re making it easier for institutions to access it confidently and securely. Combining R3’s proven expertise in regulatory and operational solutions with the openness and power of public networks, R3 Labs makes it radically simpler, safer, and faster to bring high-quality assets to public blockchains at scale.

The development has been welcomed by firms that have worked alongside R3. Guido Stroemer, co-founder and CEO, HQLAX, says, “Managing collateral across jurisdictions and time zones has long been a source of friction. R3’s technology has helped HQLAX redefine collateral mobility for traditional assets – reducing risk and unlocking trapped capital for our global bank clients. With the launch of R3 Labs, the convergence of permissioned and public networks promises to take collateral mobility to its natural next step to enable 24/7, on-demand collateral management for both traditional assets and digital assets across TradFi and DeFi players. The shift to on-chain finance is real.”   

Meanwhile, Marco Kessler, head of product and business development digital assets, at Six Securities Services, adds, “Institutional adoption of public blockchain is accelerating as the industry recognises its potential to unlock new efficiencies, liquidity, and market access. What’s critical is doing this in a way that aligns with the regulatory and operational standards institutions demand. R3 has a proven track record of delivering trusted infrastructure and solutions for capital markets, and R3 Labs is an important next step. We fully support their ambition to bridge traditional and decentralised finance and help shape the future of on-chain capital markets. R3 is uniquely positioned to deliver this at true institutional scale.”