Tokenized real-world assets increased their presence across decentralized finance between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026, even as total DeFi deposits declined by about 15%, according to a new report from CoinShares and Token Terminal. Deposits of tokenized assets into lending protocols and decentralized exchanges more than tripled over the period, reaching $7.4 billion from $2.3 billion a year earlier.
The divergence places tokenized funds, credit products and commodity-linked tokens among the few areas gaining meaningful onchain usage during a weaker period for the wider DeFi market. Rather than relying primarily on crypto-native collateral, the increase was led by products designed to represent conventional financial instruments, including Treasury-focused funds and multi-strategy vehicles.
The report identified JTRSY, BlackRock’s BUIDL and sUSDS among the leading forms of RWA collateral used in DeFi. Private credit products and delta-neutral strategies — trading approaches intended to limit directional exposure to an asset’s price — represented the next largest categories.
Lending demand shifts toward tokenized financial products
The $7.4 billion figure measures deposits of tokenized RWAs into DeFi lending platforms and decentralized exchanges, where holders can use those assets as collateral, supply liquidity or trade them. That type of activity differs from simply issuing a tokenized fund on a blockchain: it shows that the assets are being integrated into DeFi’s existing lending and market infrastructure.
Treasury-linked tokens have become particularly useful in this setting because they can offer holders exposure to short-term government debt while remaining transferable on public blockchains. A fund token deposited into a lending protocol could allow a user to borrow against it rather than sell it, although the practical availability of that option depends on each protocol’s collateral rules and risk controls.
The report’s figures also suggest that DeFi users are increasingly treating tokenized instruments as balance-sheet assets rather than as speculative products. Conventional collateral such as Treasury funds and credit products can offer a clearer reference value and income profile than volatile crypto assets, though they introduce different risks, including issuer, redemption, legal and custody constraints.
The growth does not mean tokenized RWAs have replaced crypto-native collateral across DeFi. A $7.4 billion deposit base remains relatively small beside the sector’s long-established use of assets such as Ether, stablecoins and liquid staking tokens. Yet the threefold annual increase contrasts sharply with the decline in aggregate DeFi deposits and points to a changing composition of onchain capital.
RWA trading grows as DEX activity falls
Trading trends showed a similar split. Spot trading volume across decentralized exchanges fell by roughly 70% over the year covered by the report, while trading volume in tokenized RWAs rose about 220%.
Gold-linked tokens accounted for a substantial part of that activity. Tether Gold’s XAUT and Paxos Gold’s PAXG allow token holders to gain exposure to gold through blockchain-based units backed by allocated physical metal under their respective issuers’ structures. Their use in decentralized markets gives traders a route to trade gold-linked exposure continuously and move it between onchain applications without relying on the traditional market’s settlement schedule.
The rise in gold token activity also helps explain why RWA trading could expand during a broader retreat in decentralized spot markets. Gold is a familiar macro asset with established demand beyond cryptocurrency trading, while tokenized Treasuries and funds can appeal to users looking for onchain instruments connected to conventional yields.
Perpetual futures tied to RWAs also continued to grow, according to CoinShares and Token Terminal, despite a broader slowdown in derivatives activity that began in October 2025. Perpetual futures are derivatives contracts with no expiry date, generally using funding payments to keep their prices close to the underlying market.
The most active RWA-linked perpetual markets were tied to oil, precious metals, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq-100 and semiconductor stocks. These products extend the range of assets accessible through decentralized derivatives venues, though they generally provide price exposure through index or oracle mechanisms rather than ownership of the underlying shares, commodities or funds.
Ethereum remains the main settlement layer
Ethereum held nearly 70% of RWA deposits in the report’s data, preserving its position as the principal network for tokenized financial products used in DeFi. The concentration reflects Ethereum’s established base of lending protocols, stablecoin liquidity, token standards and institutional issuance activity.
Plasma and Solana were also gaining share, the report said. Their growth points to competition around transaction costs, speed and the ability to support high-frequency transfers or trading. For issuers and DeFi applications, the choice of network can shape the cost of moving collateral, rebalancing liquidity and settling trades, especially where assets are used frequently rather than held passively.
Ethereum’s lead also creates a practical advantage for tokenized funds seeking immediate interoperability with established DeFi venues. A token issued on a less-connected network may offer lower transaction fees, but it can face a smaller pool of available lending markets, liquidity providers and compatible collateral systems.
The report’s data presents RWAs as a source of resilience within DeFi rather than evidence of a wholesale market transformation. DeFi deposits overall declined, decentralized exchange volumes contracted sharply, and RWA activity remains concentrated in a limited group of products and networks.
Yet the direction of travel is clear in the figures: tokenized collateral tied to Treasuries, funds, credit and commodities is being used more often inside onchain financial applications. That gives DeFi protocols a growing connection to assets whose value and returns are linked to markets outside the crypto ecosystem, while giving tokenized-product issuers an additional distribution channel beyond simple issuance and holding.
Curious about tokenized assets’ next wave? Explore why tokenized RWAs could be 2026’s defining megatrend for DeFi investors.
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