RWA perpetual futures near Bitcoin volumes on Hyperliquid, Binance

Perpetual futures linked to tokenized stocks and commodities generated $61.7 billion in seven-day trading on Hyperliquid and Binance, equal to 99.2% of Bitcoin perpetual volume on those venues, according to a Talos data snapshot. The snapshot covered activity through the week of July 13-19 and a data pull taken on Thursday.

Talos’ breakdown showed equity-linked contracts accounted for 57.8% of the tracked RWA perpetual volume and commodities represented 28.2%. Separate data from RWA.xyz puts the combined onchain value of real-world assets at about $36.8 billion, excluding stablecoins.

Hyperliquid recorded $25.1 billion in RWA perpetual trading during the week of July 13-19, more than the combined volume of all other perpetual categories on its platform. Early data for the following week showed RWA perpetual volume at $37.2 billion so far, about 9% higher than Bitcoin perpetual volume on the same platforms, Talos’ dashboard reported.

The more detailed current-week breakdown listed $22.8 billion in equity-linked perps, $9.1 billion in commodities, $4.2 billion in index-linked products and roughly $338 million in ETF-linked contracts. Smaller amounts appeared in foreign exchange and pre-IPO tokenized contracts.

Crypto exchanges have expanded listings to include tokenized equities and commodity contracts alongside traditional digital assets, concentrating much of the activity on a small set of venues. Market participants have noted these product features allow around-the-clock trading and perpetual contracts without expiry.

Jeremy Allaire wrote on X that growing RWA trading on Hyperliquid reflects markets moving “away from speculating on endogenous digital commodities.” Intercontinental Exchange chief Jeffrey Sprecher urged regulators to create a “level playing field” for 24/7 onchain perpetual futures, saying existing market structures should not limit blockchain-based trading.

Despite the recent growth, tracked RWA perpetuals remain a minority of total futures activity. Talos reported aggregate futures trading of about $821.4 billion over the past seven days, with RWA perpetuals representing roughly 7.5% of that total.

Exchanges and infrastructure providers have increased support for tokenized equity and commodity contracts, and onchain issuance and custody tools for RWAs have been developed further. Regulators and market operators are evaluating how existing rules and market frameworks apply to these products.