$15.9 Billion Tokenized Stock Trading Varied by Metrics

Tokenized stocks have reportedly traded on decentralized exchanges (DEX) for a total of $15.9 billion (approximately 21.465 trillion KRW) over the past 90 days. While the market for buying and selling stock exposure on-chain has grown, the varying scopes of public data make it difficult to determine a single figure for market size.

CryptoBriefing reported that as of September 6, 2026, the recent 90-day DEX trading volume for tokenized stocks was $15.9 billion, with its share in the DEX spot market growing from around 0.1% at the end of 2025 to approximately 4% in 2026. The same report noted that the daily trading volume reached a peak of $565 million (about 763 billion KRW) on June 24, with Solana (SOL) processing $553.3 million (approximately 747 billion KRW), accounting for 97.8% of the total.

The context of these figures varies across sources. CryptoBriefing presented the trading volume for the third quarter of 2026 as $7.8 billion (approximately 10.53 trillion KRW) and the cumulative DEX trading volume over 12 months as $13.7 billion (approximately 18.495 trillion KRW). Given that both the recent 90-day trading volume of $15.9 billion and the 12-month cumulative trading volume of $13.7 billion appear together, it is essential to consider the possibility that the scope and calculations differ.

Official data also supports the trend of market expansion. DeFi Development Corp stated in a shareholder letter submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Solana's tokenized stock processing amount was $8.8 billion (approximately 11.88 trillion KRW), marking a 325% increase from the previous quarter. The same document noted Solana's market share at 56% for the second quarter and 70% for June.

BNB Chain is also contributing to the growth of this market. On June 26, BNB Chain announced on its official blog that over 709 tokenized stocks and ETFs are offered within its ecosystem, with cumulative trading volume exceeding $5 billion (approximately 6.75 trillion KRW). It also explained that the market value has surpassed $1 billion (approximately 1.35 trillion KRW).

The issue lies in the nature of the trading volume. CoinGecko's report from September 2026 presented tokenized stock spot trading at $7.5 billion (approximately 10.125 trillion KRW) and perpetual contract trading at $376.3 billion (approximately 508 trillion KRW). The report indicated that the top 10 assets accounted for 76.6% of the trading volume.

It is challenging to simply sum spot trading and perpetual contract trading as the same market size. Spot trading is closer to transactions involving the direct buying and selling of tokenized stock exposure, while perpetual contracts are derivative structures that bet on price fluctuations without expiration. Even if trading has increased, it suggests that the market is not yet mature enough to be viewed as having liquidity spread across various assets and chains.

Tokenized stocks are products that implement the price fluctuations of stocks or ETFs as blockchain-based tokens. However, the structures differ among issuers and platforms. There are collateralized products based on actual stock holdings, synthetic products that only provide price exposure, and products with different methods for handling dividends or voting rights.

A more critical point for Korean readers is whether tokenized stocks grant the same rights as actual stocks. Robinhood ($HOOD) states that stock tokens provide economic exposure to the underlying securities but do not confer legal or economic rights to those securities. It also specifies that these are not available to residents of the U.S., Canada, the U.K., or Switzerland.

Robinhood explains that stock tokens are collateralized 1:1 by the underlying stocks. However, collateral and shareholder rights are separate. Dividends are not paid directly in cash but are adjusted through token multipliers when dividends occur.

This structure differs from the voting rights, direct ownership, and jurisdictional protections that investors expect when holding traditional stocks. On July 1, Robinhood unveiled the Robinhood Chain mainnet and stock tokens, promoting 24-hour trading and DeFi collateral utilization, but the rights structure remains an area requiring separate verification.

Industry interests are also divided. BNB Chain emphasizes the growth of tokenized stocks and ETFs as a pillar of its ecosystem, highlighting the number of assets and cumulative trading volume. Robinhood is pushing stock tokens as a channel for providing U.S. stock exposure to global users.

Conversely, from the perspective of existing listed companies and investor protection, legal rights and representation methods are contentious issues. The Block, Barron's, and Yahoo Finance reported that Adam Aron, CEO of AMC, strongly criticized Robinhood's tokenization of AMC stocks, while Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood, countered this criticism. This indicates that the issue of tokenized stocks is not merely about trading convenience but also involves the consent of issuers and the potential for investor misunderstanding.

The tokenized stock market has emerged as a significant source of real-world assets (RWA) in the crypto market, recording $114 million in assets under management and highlighting indicators of 1.4 million holders. Previous reports have noted that while the issuance scale and number of holders of tokenized stocks have increased, the differing trading criteria and rights structures have repeatedly become points of contention.

This recent debate over the 90-day trading volume illustrates that the actual trading and collateral utilization, as well as the rights structure, have become more important than the issuance scale. Therefore, this figure is closer to the conclusion that the DEX market trading stock exposure has grown concentrated on specific chains and assets rather than stating that "the stock market has moved on-chain." The impact of tokenized stocks on traditional securities markets and crypto markets can only be assessed once the criteria for aggregation, product structures, and investor rights documentation are further clarified.