Real Asset Trading Reaches $1.45 Trillion, Emerging as a New Pillar On-Chain

In the first half of 2026, real-world assets (RWA) and traditional financial assets on-chain trading have emerged as a new pillar in the crypto market. While liquidity has been concentrated in AI stocks, the demand for trading traditional assets such as stocks, commodities, and exchange rates within crypto has rapidly increased.

ArkStream Capital presented in its market report as of the end of Q2 2026 that the background for the crypto bear market in the first half of the year was due to the Fed's hawkish shift, the U.S.-Iran conflict, and variables in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the liquidity absorption by AI stocks. The report indicated that the size of on-chain RWAs increased from approximately $21.6 billion (about 29.94 trillion KRW) at the beginning of the year to $33 billion (about 45.73 trillion KRW), and the size of tokenized stocks grew from $291 million (about 403.3 billion KRW) to $1.816 billion (about 2.517 trillion KRW).

The key point of this trend is that funds have shifted towards trading traditional assets through crypto infrastructure rather than the coins themselves. While Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have been shaken by macro variables, some exchanges have expanded on-chain accessibility to traditional financial products by emphasizing 24-hour trading and quick settlements.

CoinGecko reported in its "TradFi on Crypto Exchanges Report 2026" that the trading volume of RWA perpetual futures reached $347.17 billion (about 481.18 trillion KRW) in May 2026. The cumulative trading volume of traditional financial perpetual futures in 2026 exceeded $1.32 trillion (about 1829.52 trillion KRW), and the trading volume of tokenized stock perpetual futures was reported at $34 billion (about 47.12 trillion KRW) in May.

A separate report from CoinGecko confirmed the same trend. The trading volume of traditional financial assets on crypto exchanges in the first half of 2026 was $1.45 trillion (about 2009.7 trillion KRW), and as of June 30, 2026, the related market value was estimated at $6.59 billion (about 9.13 trillion KRW). The open interest for traditional financial asset perpetual futures increased to $4.67 billion (about 6.47 trillion KRW) by the end of the first half.

Binance is also a part of this trend. CoinDesk Research analyzed that Binance opened access to over 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs for eligible non-U.S. users on June 1, 2026, recording approximately $143 million (about 198.2 billion KRW) in trading volume during the first nine days. This level surpassed the weekday peak trading volume of the tokenized spot market, which was around $35 million to $40 million (about 48.5 billion to 55.4 billion KRW).

Tokenized stocks and stock perpetual futures represent a way to handle traditional financial products in a blockchain-based trading environment. Depending on the product, they may be linked to actual stock ownership structures, but there are also structures that provide simple price exposure. Therefore, even if they share the name "tokenized stocks," the rights of investors, collateral structures, and jurisdictional limitations vary by product.

Binance's official documents describe bStocks as 1:1 collateralized tokenized securities, emphasizing 24-hour trading, instant settlement, and small investment access. In a separate document, it was noted that stock perpetual futures offer Tether (USDT) settlement, 24-hour trading, and up to 10x leverage. As trading convenience increases, so does the risk of leverage and liquidation.

However, it is difficult to interpret the expansion of RWAs as an immediate increase in DeFi utilization. DefiLlama estimated the on-chain RWA market capitalization at over $29 billion (about 40.19 trillion KRW) as of June 2, 2026, while the actual assets deployed within DeFi protocols were $2.5 billion (about 3.47 trillion KRW), accounting for 9.4% of the active RWA market capitalization. The DeFi utilization rate of publicly traded stocks was 1.6%.

This indicates that even though the RWA market has grown, it is still primarily in the stage of representing or trading traditional assets on-chain. The use of collateral, lending, and combinations with other protocols in a DeFi-like manner remains limited. This is why the increase in trading volume and the transition of financial infrastructure cannot be viewed at the same pace.

Industry reactions are mixed between optimism and caution. Exchanges and data companies see that channels for trading stocks, ETFs, commodities, and exchange rates 24/7 are expanding. On the other hand, there are concerns that if regulations, investor rights, pricing, or liquidation structures are not clear, the risks could be greater than those of existing financial products.

For Korean investors, this change signifies more than just an expansion of overseas exchange products. The on-chain products of RWAs and traditional finance show that the crypto market is moving towards absorbing the demand for trading traditional assets, rather than relying solely on the price movements of Bitcoin and altcoins. At the same time, restrictions on access to overseas exchanges, derivative product leverage, and verification of actual rights structures still remain.

Previously, we reported that RWA-linked perpetual futures accounted for 52% of the total weekly trading volume from July 13 to 19 at Hyperliquid. The fact that contracts tracking stock, index, and commodity prices first surpassed crypto pairs like Bitcoin and Ethereum aligns with the trend observed in the first half of this year.

Caution is needed when comparing figures. The regional and sectoral returns from ArkStream Capital are based on internal baskets within the report and are not figures confirmed as official indices, making it difficult to generalize them as overall market performance. The total amount of RWAs also varies by aggregation agency regarding the inclusion of stablecoins, the range of on-chain displayed assets, and the actual DeFi utilization, making simple comparisons with the same numbers challenging.

Ultimately, the bear market in the crypto market in the first half of 2026 cannot be explained solely by internal collapse. On one side, liquidity has shifted towards AI stocks and semiconductor supply chains, while on the other side, the market for handling traditional assets on crypto trading infrastructure has grown. The expansion of RWA trading is more of a signal that some traditional financial transactions are testing crypto rails rather than concluding that crypto has replaced traditional finance.