Perpetual futures based on tokenized stocks and commodities have surged in popularity, generating trading volumes nearly matching those of Bitcoin perpetuals on major venues Hyperliquid and Binance during the past week, according to institutional trading platform Talos.
Strong demand lifts tokenized assets
Data shared by Talos indicates that the combined seven-day trading volume for real-world asset (RWA) perpetual futures on Hyperliquid and Binance reached $61.7 billion. This figure equates to 99.2% of Bitcoin perpetual futures volume on those platforms, reflecting a sharp increase in trader interest beyond volatility in cryptocurrencies alone.
Of these RWA perpetual trades, equity-linked contracts made up 57.8% while commodities accounted for 28.2%. The remaining share included indexes, ETFs, foreign exchange, and pre-IPO contracts. According to RWA.xyz, the total value of onchain RWAs, excluding stablecoins, now stands at $36.8 billion as exchanges expand offerings to include tokenized stocks and more.
Mini dictionary: Real-world asset (RWA) perpetual futures — Derivatives contracts that track the price of physical-world assets, such as stocks or commodities, in tokenized form. These allow round-the-clock trading and do not expire, distinguishing them from traditional futures contracts.
Hyperliquid leads growth in RWA derivatives
During the week of July 13 to July 19, Hyperliquid reported $25.1 billion in RWA perpetual trading volume. This amount surpassed the combined volume of all other perpetual trading categories on its platform, signaling a pattern of users prioritizing tokenized contracts that track stocks and commodities.
Circle, a company best known for issuing the USDC stablecoin, has also turned attention to this trend. CEO Jeremy Allaire emphasized in a post on X that increasing RWA activity on Hyperliquid may indicate the crypto market is moving “away from speculating on endogenous digital commodities.”
Jeremy Allaire highlighted that the rise of RWA perpetual futures on Hyperliquid suggests a shift in crypto market engagement, focusing more on real-world financial assets rather than internal digital commodities.
Talos data indicates the trend is holding steady into the current week. Early figures show RWA perpetual trading volume reached $37.2 billion, outpacing Bitcoin perpetual volume by approximately 9% on Hyperliquid and Binance.
| Instrument | Trading Volume (Current Week) |
|---|---|
| Equity-linked contracts | $22.8 billion |
| Commodities | $9.1 billion |
| Indexes | $4.2 billion |
| ETFs | $338 million |
Traditional finance weighs regulatory response
Interest from major financial market players continues to grow. Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange — the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange — recently advocated for regulation that ensures equal footing for 24/7 onchain perpetual futures. Sprecher argued that regulators should not allow existing market structures to block blockchain-based trading innovation.
Pantera Capital, an institutional crypto asset manager, previously stated that perpetual futures could become the dominant trading product outside the digital asset sector. The firm pointed to advantages such as round-the-clock availability, no contract expiries, easier position management, and continuous price discovery.
Pantera Capital argued that perpetual futures’ features, including 24/7 trading and continuous price discovery, make them an attractive instrument for a wide range of assets.
Despite rapid growth, Talos data shows that RWA perpetuals still represent a relatively small portion of the broader derivatives market. Total seven-day futures trading volume reached $821.4 billion, with RWA perpetuals accounting for around 7.5% of this total.
