Real Data Assets (RDA), as an innovative asset form, is reshaping the value realization path of data elements. Proposed in 2025 by the Shanghai Data Exchange, the RDA paradigm not only explores the transformation of data from a resource to capital but also represents China’s practice of deepening the integration of the real economy and the digital economy under the "Real-Data Integration" strategy.

In 2025, the Shanghai Data Exchange (hereinafter referred to as SDE) introduced the concept of RDA in "RDA: Exploring the Valuation of Data Elements," led by General Manager Tang Qifeng and Deputy Director of the Research Institute Lü Zhengying. This paradigm responds to the national strategies of "New Quality Productivity" and data element marketization. It aims to deeply integrate physical assets and operational data through technologies such as blockchain and the Internet of Things, creating a new asset unit that is "verifiable, tradable, and financeable." Unlike global Real World Assets (RWA), which focus on asset tokenization, RDA emphasizes the authentication and value enhancement of data, constructing a unique "Real-Data Integration" path.

SDE positions RDA as the core engine for data valuation, encapsulating the full lifecycle data of physical assets into standardized, tradable digital assets through blockchain technology. In April 2025, SDE officially launched the RDA paradigm at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival, marking the transition of data from a backend resource to a foreground asset with standardized pathways for inclusion, registration, valuation, trading, and financing. In July of the same year, SDE hosted a closed-door seminar titled "New Opportunities in Capital Markets: RDA," attracting financial institutions such as Guotai Junan Securities, Haitong Securities, and China Securities Co., Ltd. to discuss the application prospects of RDA in capital markets, laying a solid foundation for subsequent project implementation.