RWA perpetual volumes exceed full-year 2025 in Q1

CoinGecko said on May 13 that real-world-asset perpetuals traded $524.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, above the $313.0 billion recorded for all of 2025. The report put one of the fastest-growing corners of tokenized finance in a derivatives market that is now expanding faster than the underlying on-chain asset base. CoinGecko also said tokenized RWAs reached $19.3 billion by March 31, up from $5.42 billion at the start of 2025. The data point circulated again on X this week as traders and tokenization advocates pointed to fresh demand for on-chain exposure to commodities, stocks and other traditional assets. ### How big was the jump in one quarter? CoinGecko’s report said Q1 2026 RWA perp volume was “significantly more” than the full-year 2025 total, with $524.8 billion traded in three months versus $313.0 billion over 12 months. The same report said this followed four consecutive quarters of sequential growth in the category. Phemex, citing CoinGecko data, said the Q1 figure represented a 1,666% year-over-year increase. (coingecko.com) That comparison points to how small the market was a year earlier and how quickly trading activity has concentrated in a handful of liquid contracts. ### What are traders actually trading in these RWA perps? CoinGecko said commodities have been the main driver of tokenized RWA growth, with tokenized commodities rising to $5.5 billion by the end of Q1 from $1.43 billion at the start of 2025. (coingecko.com) The report said gold-backed tokens XAUT and PAXG drove much of that increase, while spot trading in tokenized gold reached $90.7 billion in Q1, above the $84.6 billion traded in all of 2025. (phemex.com) Chainalysis said in an April 23 report that tokenized RWAs are drawing both institutional and crypto-native users, with Ethereum wallet data showing a spike in addresses created specifically to hold tokenized assets in late 2025 and early 2026. Chainalysis also said institutional categories such as asset-backed credit have grown faster than retail categories including commodities and stocks. (coingecko.com) ### Why does the derivatives number matter if the asset base is smaller? CoinGecko said tokenized RWAs totaled $19.32 billion as of March 31, meaning perp turnover is many times larger than the on-chain market capitalization of the assets themselves. That gap is typical of derivatives-heavy markets, where traders use leverage and short-term positioning rather than buying and holding the underlying tokens. (chainalysis.com) Chainalysis said blockchains offer 24/7 access, near-instant settlement and lower intermediary costs for financial institutions. It said updated compliance standards and clearer custody and reporting rules helped bring more capital into tokenized assets over the past year. ### What does the custody and issuance buildout look like? Securitize said on May 4 that FINRA approved its broker-dealer subsidiary to custody tokenized securities and facilitate atomic settlement between tokenized securities and stablecoins on-chain. (coingecko.com) The company said the approval also allows Securitize Markets to act as an underwriter and selling-group participant for primary and secondary tokenized securities offerings. (chainalysis.com) Carlos Domingo, Securitize’s co-founder and chief executive, said custody of tokenized securities inside a broker-dealer is “a foundational unlock,” according to coverage of the approval. The move added a regulated U.S. custody and issuance channel at a time when trading activity in tokenized products is accelerating. ### What comes next for the market’s plumbing? (prnewswire.com) DTCC said on May 4 that it plans initial limited production trades of securities tokenized through DTC’s tokenization service in July 2026, with a full service launch planned for October 2026. DTCC said more than 50 financial industry firms are participating in the effort. Those dates give the next concrete test for whether tokenized issuance, custody and secondary-market trading keep moving together. (edgen.tech) CoinGecko’s next quarterly updates and company disclosures from firms such as Securitize and DTCC will show whether the Q1 pace holds through mid-2026. (coingecko.com) (dtcc.com)