RWA Market Explodes 256% to $19B: Tokenized Treasuries Lead the Charge

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RWA Market Surges 256% to $19B, Tokenized Treasuries Lead Boom: Report

A new report from CoinGecko reveals that tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) experienced a significant increase, growing by 256% to reach $19.3 billion. This growth was primarily driven by tokenized treasuries, gold, and a surge in activity surrounding perpetual futures (perps) trading.

The market for digital versions of real-world assets has reached a significant new level. A recent report from CoinGecko shows this sector experienced a remarkable 256.7% growth in just fifteen months.

By the end of the first quarter of 2026, the total market value had grown to $19.32 billion, a significant increase from the $5.42 billion it was at the beginning of 2025.

Tokenized RWAs now represent 6.4% of the total stablecoin market, up from 2.7% in early 2025.

Related Reading: RWAs Hit $30B as Institutional Capital Floods On-Chain Markets: Report

Tokenized Treasuries and Commodities Drive RWA Market Growth

Tokenized treasuries are still the most popular type of real-world asset being brought onto the blockchain. Their value increased by a significant 225.5%, adding $9 billion during this time.

They control 67.2% of the total Real World Asset (RWA) market. The value of these assets first exceeded $10 billion on February 11, 2026, causing a short-lived increase in activity.

Tokenized commodities also saw significant growth, increasing by 289% to $5.55 billion. This surge was largely due to the popularity of tokens backed by gold.

In my research, I’ve found that Tether’s XAUT and Paxos’ PAXG were the primary drivers of growth in the market, collectively representing 89.1% of it. PAXG, in particular, saw its market share increase from 36.8% to 41.8%, finishing the first quarter of 2026 with a market capitalization of $2.32 billion.

XAUT held the top spot at $2.52 billion.

Looking at the precious metals market, I’ve noticed some significant gains with smaller tokens. Specifically, Kinesis’ silver-backed KAG token experienced a really strong surge, more than doubling its value to $0.35 billion.

KAU added $0.23 billion. Matrixdock’s XAUM scaled elevenfold, reaching $0.07 billion.

CoinGecko’s RWA Report 2026 is now LIVE

The process of turning real-world assets into tokens is happening much faster now. Big companies traditionally involved in finance are actively competing to prove they meet regulations, offer a wide range of assets, and have broad distribution networks.

Here are 7 highlights you shouldn’t miss

— CoinGecko (@coingecko)

Tokenized Stocks and ETFs Scale Rapidly Since Mid-2025

Stocks offered as tokens first became available around the middle of 2025 and rapidly gained popularity. Their value increased significantly, growing from $2.09 million in June 2025 to $486.69 million by March 31, 2026.

Circle is currently the leading company with a market value of $171.39 million, holding 35.2% of the market. Tesla and Nvidia follow, with market values of $61.70 million and $42.59 million respectively.

Ondo Finance’s launch of its September 2025 product significantly boosted the market, tripling the sector’s total value in just one month, as reported by CoinGecko.

In just the first three months of 2026, trading of tokenized stocks reached $15.12 billion. This is higher than the total amount traded during all of the last six months of 2025, which was $14.84 billion.

By the end of the first quarter of 2026, investments in tokenized ETFs totaled $297.50 million. The leading tokenized ETF is the Ondo SPDR S&P 500, with $32.45 million in assets, closely followed by iShares Silver Trust at $31.75 million. Notably, Ondo manages eight of the ten highest-performing tokenized ETFs.

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RWA Perpetuals Volume Surges Past 2025 Full-Year Figures

As a researcher tracking the growth of Real World Asset (RWA) perpetual futures, I’ve observed a significant surge in trading activity. In just the first quarter of 2026, we saw $524.79 billion in trading volume. This is remarkable because it’s already more than the entire year’s volume for 2025, which totaled $313.02 billion.

The report notes this marks the fourth consecutive quarter of growth in RWA perps volume.

As I’ve been tracking the market, I’ve noticed a significant increase in open interest. Starting in January 2025 at just $0.14 billion, it really took off, reaching $6.68 billion by March 2026. It’s a substantial jump that definitely warrants attention.

The average daily trading volume in the first quarter of 2026 was $4.82 billion. This is more than five times higher than the $0.85 billion average seen throughout all of 2025.

Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 saw significant growth in popularity. Its portion of monthly trading volume for real-world asset (RWA) perpetual futures contracts increased dramatically, from 2.8% when it launched in October 2025 to 28.6% by March 2026.

HIP-3 volume totaled $130.87 billion in Q1 2026, up from $12.65 billion in Q4 2025. 

CoinGecko says the market is growing because it’s becoming more established and more people are interested in different types of investments.

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2026-05-01 00:18