Tokenised Assets Triple to $7.4B as the Rest of DeFi Contracts

Tokenised asset deposits tripled to $7.4 billion

A report published on 6 August 2026 by CoinShares and Token Terminal found that deposits of tokenised real-world assets, known as RWAs, into decentralised finance platforms reached $7.4 billion in the second quarter of 2026. That total is up from $2.3 billion in the same quarter of 2025, a threefold rise in 12 months. RWAs are traditional financial instruments, such as government bonds or commodities, issued and traded as blockchain tokens. Decentralised finance, or DeFi, refers to lending and trading services that run on public blockchains without banks.

RWA growth ran against a shrinking DeFi market

The increase arrived as the wider DeFi sector contracted. Total DeFi deposits fell about 15% over the same 12-month period. Spot volumes on decentralised exchanges, known as DEXs, dropped around 70%. These venues let people trade tokens directly without a central intermediary. The split shows that capital moved toward a specific corner of the market rather than growing evenly across it. The overall drop suggests traders pulled back from speculative tokens while committing more funds to assets tied to real cash flows.

Traditional assets drove most of the on-chain gains

CoinShares and Token Terminal linked the growth to tokenised versions of conventional assets. Trading in tokenised real-world assets rose about 220%, even as broader DEX activity fell sharply. The report named Treasuries, gold, and equity benchmarks such as the S&P 500 among the fastest-growing on-chain assets. Yield-bearing dollar tokens and tokenised Treasury products made up the largest share of deposits during the quarter. The findings suggest institutions favour familiar, income-generating instruments as they test blockchain settlement.

Ethereum hosted most tokenised deposits

Ethereum accounted for close to 70% of tokenised RWA deposits, according to the CoinShares and Token Terminal report. The report cited other networks as gaining a share of new activity. The concentration reflects Ethereum's established position as the main settlement layer for tokenised financial products.

Ethereum traded near $1,896 at publication

Ethereum, or ETH, is the main network for tokenised assets. It traded at $1,895.99 at the time of publication, down 0.87% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 7 August 2026). Its market value stood at about $228 billion. Trading volume in ETH fell about 23% over the prior day (CoinPaprika, 7 August 2026). The token remained roughly 62% below its record high from August 2025.

CoinShares framed the shift as hybrid finance

CoinShares chief executive Jean-Marie Mognetti described the trend as traditional finance moving on-chain rather than users leaving it behind. The firm called the pattern hybrid finance, in which conventional assets migrate onto blockchain infrastructure while keeping their original form. Mognetti said the assets settle in seconds and stay open outside standard market hours, unlike traditional trading venues.

"Investors are not leaving traditional finance behind. They are moving traditional assets onto infrastructure that settles in seconds and does not close at night.", 6 August 2026. — Jean-Marie Mognetti, Chief Executive Officer, CoinShares

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