Tokenized stocks welcome the moment of stablecoins: the market value exceeds $1.2 billion, and the amount of RWA lock-up jumps to the fifth largest in DeFi

Tokenized stock market capitalization surpasses $1.2 billion, with RWA locked-in volume soaring to become the fifth largest in DeFi. Institutional giants are actively deploying compliant on-chain trading, and the market is experiencing an explosive period similar to early stablecoins.

Tokenized stock market capitalization exceeds $1.2 billion, growth trajectory similar to early stablecoins

This year, besides stablecoins, the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) has also grown rapidly, experiencing a similar explosive phase as early stablecoins.

According to Token Terminal statistics, the total market cap of tokenized stocks has risen to $1.2 billion, with significant capital inflows in September and December.

Token Terminal points out that the current stage of tokenized stocks is akin to stablecoins in 2020, when stablecoins were still in their infancy, but now they have become a massive industry worth $300 billion.

Image source: Token Terminal Based on Token Terminal statistics, the total market cap of tokenized stocks has risen to $1.2 billion

Some industry insiders compare this phenomenon to the early boom of decentralized finance (DeFi) in 2020, optimistic that more global stocks will migrate on-chain, enjoying advantages such as 24/7 trading, rapid settlement, and fractional ownership.

Institutional giants are entering one after another, deploying compliant on-chain equity trading

Since the second half of this year, active promotion by institutional investors has been a main driver accelerating the development of the tokenized stock market.

For example, Backed Finance launched the xStocks product suite on Ethereum in September, by collaborating with cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken and Bybit, they introduced about 60 tokenized stock offerings for the first time, boosting market enthusiasm at that time.

Tokenization company Securitize also announced in early December plans to launch compliant on-chain public equity trading services, promising to provide direct share ownership; Ondo Finance is also expected to launch tokenized US stocks and ETFs on Solana blockchain in early 2026; Coinbase announced stock trading services, aiming to transform into a comprehensive exchange.

Further reading:
Coinbase launches stock trading and prediction markets! Transitioning to an all-in-one exchange to create a one-stop financial experience

RWA Lock-in Volume Surpasses DEX, Ranks Fifth in DeFi

Overall, the total value locked (TVL) in the RWA sector is also a major winner in DeFi by 2025. According to DefiLlama data, the TVL of RWA protocols has surpassed decentralized exchanges (DEX), rising to the fifth largest DeFi sector.

Currently, RWA’s TVL is about $17 billion, far above the $12 billion in Q4 2024, and earlier this year, RWA was not even in the top ten. However, because some RWA protocols can inflate their TVL through internal ledger on-chain or other methods, the true and transparent nature of RWA TVL has previously sparked controversy.

Image source: DefiLlama The TVL of RWA protocols has surpassed decentralized exchanges (DEX), rising to the fifth largest DeFi sector.

2026 RWA Market Focus: Liquidity and Integration

Regarding the rapid development of the RWA market, Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research, told Cointelegraph that due to the Federal Reserve maintaining high interest rates for a long time, tokenized US Treasuries and private credit products have become attractive on-chain yield assets, and with increased regulatory clarity, the entry barriers for institutions have lowered.

For future RWA market development, Vincent Liu believes that the current limitations are no longer about tokenization technology itself, but focus on liquidity and integration with traditional finance (TradFi).

He points out that the focus of the RWA market in 2026 should shift from surface-level TVL data to actual control rights and utilization, including who owns issuance rights, where RWA is deployed as collateral, and which trading venues can effectively capture secondary market traffic.

Further reading:
Is the second brother the best? Standard Chartered: RWA scale to reach 2 trillion USD by 2028, Ethereum will be the biggest winner

WFE as a Conservative Force in the RWA Wave

Although the RWA market is booming, the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), representing major global stock exchanges, recently sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crypto task force, strongly urging regulators to tighten exemptions for crypto platforms.

WFE believes that the exemption system, which was originally meant for necessary and investor-protective cases, is now being widely used, potentially creating risks to market order.

This is the second warning from WFE this year regarding tokenization, indicating that under the RWA wave, traditional stock exchanges still play a conservative role, worried that relaxed regulation could weaken market transparency and investor rights.