Tokenized Stocks Surge 86% in Q3 as Treasury Growth Stalls, ARK Invest Reports

What to Know

Tokenized equities emerged as a major growth driver in the real-world asset market during the third quarter of 2026. According to ARK Invest’s quarterly DeFi report, tokenized stock values jumped 86% to approximately $3.2 billion, outpacing US Treasury products.

The expansion coincided with growing institutional participation and increased trading activity across decentralized exchanges. Major platforms, including Robinhood, Coinbase, and Payward, expanded their involvement in tokenized equity markets during the quarter.

Meanwhile, the broader tokenized real-world asset market grew 19% quarter-over-quarter to approximately $39 billion. This represented substantial growth from the $17 billion recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.

Tokenized active investment strategies also recorded significant growth, climbing 166% to $4 billion. Regulatory developments supported this expansion, including SEC clearance for tokenized equity trading on permissioned decentralized finance venues.

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Tokenized Stocks Outpace Treasury Products as Institutional Adoption Expands

Growth across tokenized asset categories varied considerably, with equities and active investment strategies recording the strongest quarterly increases. Tokenized US Treasuries remained relatively unchanged at approximately $15 billion, despite growing activity across other asset classes. In comparison, tokenized private credit increased 25% to $8 billion, reflecting additional institutional participation.

Products supporting credit growth included a tokenized high-yield investment fund developed by Securitize and Neuberger Berman. Ethereum maintained its position as the largest blockchain for institutional RWA issuance, hosting approximately $16.7 billion in tokenized assets.

Nevertheless, Ethereum’s share of public blockchain RWA value declined from 50% in the second quarter to approximately 44%. Competing networks gained ground as institutional issuers expanded tokenization activity beyond Ethereum. BNB Chain, Solana, and Stellar each recorded approximately threefold increases in tokenized asset values during 2026.

BNB Chain benefited from tokenized money market products, including iBENJI and USYC. Solana attracted additional activity through tokenized equities and BlackRock’s BUIDL fund.

Tokenized Equity Trading Drives Ninefold Increase in DEX Activity

Tokenized equities also contributed to a major shift in decentralized exchange trading volumes during the third quarter. Spot trading volume involving tokenized stocks increased approximately ninefold to $50 billion, according to ARK Invest’s findings. Their share of total spot DEX volume reached approximately 9%, compared with just 1% during the preceding quarter.

Overall, spot DEX trading volume increased 13% to $571 billion, ending a sequence of four consecutive quarterly declines. Stablecoin transaction volume also increased 16% to $781 billion, while monthly active addresses climbed 39% to 73 million.

Despite higher transaction activity, total stablecoin supply declined 3% to approximately $309 billion. The quarterly figures highlighted a growing role for tokenized equities in decentralized trading and institutional blockchain adoption. Meanwhile, Treasury tokenization remained stable as other asset categories accounted for much of the market’s expansion.

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